Going two tone; a dresser makeover

This old beaten run down dresser has been in our attic since we moved in three years ago.

  Finally this past September it was time to bring her down and breath new life into her.  Our TV nook was lacking any sort of style  as you can see here:

I had an idea how to fix this corner up and thought the old dresser could help me out. 
The living room is full of mixed tones including a white parsons desk and white picture frames, natural trim on the door casings and a dark finished shelf.  I thought if I took the dresser and painted it a two toned white and natural combo it may help to pull the other pieces in the room together.  Plus I’ve seen it done on pinterest and love the turn out. 
The first step was to pull the dresser down from the attic.  We put it on the porch and there it sat for a while until I was able to get to it.  When I finally got around to it the first thing I did was to clean out the drawers with water and vinegar.

This helped to clean out all the dust and dirt and get rid of the musty smell that was lingering.  Then the drawers came out for Mike to sand and the rest was in the kitchen for me to paint.

I wiped it all down inside and out first so that I’d be working with a clean surface and then I primed it with one coat of primer.

It didn’t take long to dry before I could add the first coat of semi gloss white.  The trick is, in my opinion to apply thin even coats and let them dry completely before applying another coat.  On some of the detailed work and around the rounded edges I used a sponge to help me apply an even coat. 

It took pretty much all day and about 4 coats of paint to get the finish I was after. Here’s what I had at the end of the day:

While the paint was drying I stepped out onto the porch and applied a coat of polyurethane to the drawers after Mike was done sanding them.  This you definitely need to let dry in between coats to get a nice smooth finish.  After the first coat was dried, I lightly sanded it with a fine grid sand paper and then gave it a second coat.  I probably should have done three coats but I was anxious to get it done in one day. 

As for the hardware on the drawers, I just brought them outside onto a piece of cardboard and spray painted them gold.  The next morning I brought in all the pieces and put the dresser back together. I have to say, I was very pleased with the turn out.   Not only is our TV nook looking a lot better, but it did just as I had hoped and pulled the rest of the room together.  I really like the flow that we’ve got going on now.  It makes me so happy to see a room finally coming together. 



So here you have it again, the before and after:

and after;

Sooooo much better!! Were so happy with this dresser makeover.  Not only did it help to pull our room together but we did it with out spending a dime and using supplies we already on hand.  Pretty much a win, win!!

I heart hearts!

 

Blue dress, $47 / Heart shelf

That dress is so adorable and if I could only think of the perfect place in my home for that shelf, it would be mine!!

Happy Friday.

Anthropologie Inspired Pillow Cover

I heart ruffles!

Beautiful, Anthropologie inspired, ruffled pillow.

I heart green, too

Finding some geometric art inspiration

This Sunday I plan to do a few chores around the house and yard and then spend some time designing greeting cards for the upcoming holiday season.  I did a little search this morning for some inspiration.  I found a great stamping tutorial by Emmadime that you should check out if stamping might be your thing.

EMMADIME / Pinterest / Pinterest / Abstract Print Wall Decor, Norwegian Digital ... | .::Dream Home Stuf… / Unavailable Listing on Etsy / Pinterest

Happy Sunday!!

Images: Polyvore photo collage by Ivy Bingham

Washi tape in the kitchen

I painted the walls in my kitchen way back in the early spring and I couldn't be more in love with the color.  It's an awesome grey-ish green shade called techno grey, from Sherwin Williams.  After nailing the right paint color, I had visions of colorful artwork in white frames finishing up the walls. I've seen such beautiful inspiration for this idea on DIY blogs like this one and this one and it definitely seems the direction I want to go in.  I've been thinking and thinking about what I like and trying to save our pennies for just the right materials.  In the process of saving for this project, I realize our kitchen is due for a major overhaul someday and until then I'm just trying to make it a place I feel happy in and enjoy until that day comes. I've decided it's a good time to perhaps step out of my comfort zone and use this time to also experiment with things I wouldn't normally do.  Like use washi tape as picture frames instead of going out for nice white ones right now.  I've seen it on pinterest and thought it was such a cute idea for a work space, I wondered how it work in a kitchen.  So, I've decided to give it a try in mine.

Here's my kitchen after making the attempt:

I added some detail to the door as well after seeing it done in neon pink also on pinterest.  I'm still in the phase of 'I think I need to live with it a while' but part of me really likes it!  My fear is that it may give the kitchen somewhat of an immature look.

 I've also been playing around with a family command wall in the kitchen and did a calender in the washi tape as well.

I like it.  Perhaps not long term but for now I'm enjoying it and so are the kids.  There drawn to the color and that was ultimately my goal; to add color and style.  What do you think?

Images: All Ivy Bingham for My ruffled life

Linking up with Craft-O-Maniac, More the merrier Monday, Motivate me Monday

Fall Decorating

To warm up and cozy up my decorating for fall I've fallen in love with a few simple items.  Gold!!?? Yes, please!! I'm completely smitten with it and I've been using it everywhere!  Weather it be in the form of spray paint or a metallic sharpie, it's helping me add warm and elegant touches all through out my home.  Washi tape is the other fabulous home decorating accessory that has hit me like a tidal wave.  There is only like, um....a MILLION uses for it!

 

1. Krylon Premium gold spray paint.
2. Metallic Sharpies.
3. Japanese washi tape.


Images: Polyvore collage by Ivy Bingham 

Can wishes really come true??

So my little girl comes into my room tonight just after I tucked her in.  She says mom… Yah sweetie… Well, you know how you make a wish on the star at night?  Yah…..Well,…. what happens if you make that wish night after night and it never comes true?

Pause….At this point I am thinking ..okay, this is one of those times I need to think of the perfect something to say, make it quick and make it good.  Its needs to be memorable and exactly what she wanted to hear.  The first thought that came to my mind was reciting something I heard from a Disney movie. 

Well, you know Molly, a wish will only get you half way. You have to work hard to make your best wishes come true…

What do you mean?

Well, I mean a wish is your desire, your dream, in order to make it come true you have to work for it.  Try hard to make it happen.

Well, I don’t know how I could do that…

Another pause, at this moment, I realize I know what her dream is.  Her dream is to fly. She wants to soar through the air like the birds, sit on clouds and dance among the tree tops. I know this is her dream because I’ve heard her talk about it a million times.  Because it was my dream when I was her age.

Well, some wishes Molly, are meant to come true only in our dreams.  What’s your dream?…..To fly?….

Yah, its been my dream for a long time.  And I know you can only fly with wings or pixie dust…….. 

Or, in your dreams…

Well…

Let me show you.  Just lay down.  I helped her to lay down on the bed.  Now, close your eyes.

Sigh, Mom…

Trust me, close your eyes……

I smoothed her hair out of her face, I stroked my finger along her forehead…

There you are, outside in the backyard, beneath the Maple. You look down and see your toes nestled in the cool grass. You look up and see the blue sky.  Its a perfect blue sky, the exact blue that beckons to you. You raise your hands up high and tilt your head to the sky, You can feel your feet leaving the earth, leaving the cool grass as your feet slowly pick up off the ground.  You can see yourself getting higher and higher closer to the tops of the trees. You fly your body around in circles, your toes dancing off the leaves.  And then you spring up, even higher and higher you go, the wind pressing against your face, your hair billowing behind you.. until there you are, flying around in the clouds. The perfect clouds, the kind that look like there made out of marshmallow.  You turn around and sit down onto the cloud and you sink into it, like your sitting on a huge pile of feathers. You throw yourself back and lay down and as you do , you can see whispers of the cloud float off into the air.  You move your arms up and down as if to make a snow angel, feeling the clouds airy softness.  You roll all around in sheer delight, nothing but blue sky and clouds all around you. When you decide, you lift yourself off and fly back down to the maple where you can hear the birds singing. You stop, and you look at the birds, you look them right in the eye and surprisingly they smile at you, they smile at you because at that moment they know.  They know what it is that you now know.  Something so incredibly special. And you smile back.

You let yourself come back to the earth, slowly falling down until your toes have met the smooth, cool grass once more.

So, could you see yourself flying….

With a big smile, Yah….