A Little Bookcase Styl'in {& A Big Makeover}

How do you create a stylish bookcase that is equally functional? 
Then again, a better question is how much of a design dork would you think I was if I said my first attempted to "stylize" the bookcase was preeeety useless. *hangs head shamefully*
Is it just me that finds this task somewhat of a challenge? I had to sketch out a storage plan for my entire living room before I could properly build then style my two bookcases. 
Thankfully, plotting a plan did the job perfectly...I realized that two small bookcases just wouldn't do the job, and that's how this project went from a little bookcase styling to a big makeover project! 
Finally our twin bookcases can boast both fashion and function! I have to say, looking at these bookcases now it is hard to believe all that it took to get to this point (blood, sweat, tears from sawdust in my eye)...

The Life Cycle of a Bookcase And Some Scrap Wood
Ok, so this is more than just the story of styling a couple bookcases I found along the side of the road. What I initially thought was going to be one little paint project took quite a turn and became the mother lode of projects! These bookcases were in poor shape when I found them... there was water damage and torn faux wood paper covering (ew, who does that?).
No worries, after a lot of Kilz primer, many coats of paint, and two DIY custom built bases later...well, things were definitely looking up! 

Design Details
In case you were wondering what it took to style this bookcase, well a LOT of spray paint and many many small projects. No seriously, a lot of spray paint...I'm still feeling really fumed out in spite of my mask (hungry, weak, not as bright as I was last week). 

I have painted everything from needles for my pinboard (hey, it's all in the details right?), to lamps, bottles, frames, boxes, and art. Here are some snapshots of all the before & afters:

NEEDLES | Why spend extra money on cute pins? A coat of spray paint does the job!

JARS | put pretty jars to good use, and add a little sparkle with a metallic spray paint. See how here.

PINBOARD | replace the glass with cork and fabric to make your own DIY pinboard. 

 ART | we replace our art, but why not spruce up an outdated matte as well? Isn't it amazing what you can spray paint? 

LAMP & BINDERS | unwilling to spend $79+ on per art lamp, I bought a second-hand piano lamp for $15 that matched my existing piano lamp. I removed the base and wired it to act as a bookcase/art lamp, click here for the tutorial. While you're looking, notice the chevron binders? Inserting wrapping paper into clear binder fronts adds a little style to these plain white binders. 

DIY WIRE BASKET | this one roll of hardware cloth equals four baskets, and money still in my pocket. I made this basket and sewed a faux leather handle in less than 30 minutes! See my tutorial here.

BOXES | a thin layer of metallic paint brings out the best wood grain qualities, and pretty hardware ups the ante on this box. The bigger box houses puzzles in individual cases, and the smaller box catches stray puzzle pieces until we discover which puzzle they belong with. Directly underneath in the cabinet base is a large pull out puzzle tray...now puzzles in progress can be put out of sight and reach until they are ready for completion! See more here.

ART & OFFICE | office products may be necessary, but why not also attractive? A little metallic spray paint took this stapler from drab to decor. I pick up on the metallic tones throughout the decor with a little DIY art...a popular but easy abstract!

Storage & Fantastic Function
Function is everything in my living room, so these bookcases needed to be more than just storage, I needed a work space as well. Finally there is a place for everything in my living room... This bookcase+hutch now stores 7 important binders, stacks of magazines, books, craft & office materials, stationery, 6 puzzles, 40 games, and fabric & wrapping paper nearby! Much more than it did as simply a mildewy bookcase. 

PENCIL STORAGE

PAINT SWATCHES

CD STORAGE

Why yes, I did say 40 games...thank you for asking. What do you mean you didn't ask? *grin*
Well, even if you weren't wondering what's behind the closed doors beneath I'm going to tell you anyway. What can I say, we're huge ginormous board game geeks! These aren't just any games, they require strategy, they have lots of tiny pieces, and take hours to play. I shared a video tour of my game storage here, and how I organize a few of the games themselves here and here. Ok, that's the end of my sidetrack for today... the other hobby, the dark side. *snicker*

GAME STORAGE

Thanks for letting me share my DIY bookcases! I needed a space to store all my work space and living room knick knacks, and now they can be stored in style.
I'll be revisiting some of the bigger projects and sharing all the how-to's, so check back!

Linky Love:

East Coast Creative

Matte Maker, Matte Maker, Make Me a Matte...

So, what do you do once you've bought or painted the perfect picture for your space, and then discover that it is too small for the matte? Apparently you panic, then you make a run to a store that does custom framing, then you hyperventilate when you hear how much it will cost, then you say "no thanks", run home and get creative!
Well, ready to get creative? *grin* I guess I'm going to be the matte maker this time around. I was the artist last week, so why not attempt a matte revamp?

Ok, you're wondering how I could miss something so obvious. *chuckle* I didn't really. This size canvass was on sale for a mere $5, and any larger size would have been north of $30! I decided to save my money and buy a new matte or re-size the current matte. Well, you know me, I chose the cheaper solution. In my defense, I'm po'.

How To Re-Size Your Matte

1. Select the two adjacent corners you want to shorten. Cut the matte from inside corner to outside corner. {Tip: Use a straight edge to ensure a pristine cut}

2. Overlap matte to shorten to desired new length, use straight edge to help you cut a new edge. {Tip: Be sure you hold your exacto knife at the same angle as your original cut for a snug fit}

3. Snugly fit new edges together, and tape {Tip: tape either the back of the matte, or a in a spot that will not be visible if double matted}

Final Tip: No need to do this to all 4 corners. Cut the two adjacent corners that need to be shortened, following the steps above. THEN just score the other two corners to make it look as if it has been cut. 

Painting Your Matte
Occasionally there will be color discrepancies after re-sizing an old matte. The visible edges of mine were lighter than the rest of the matte. My solution, paint the matte to my preferred color! Matte's are a thick enough material to handle acrylic paint...but don't water your paint down, you don't want to warp the matte.

I'm using the same gold folkart brand paint that I used on my painting. After all, shouldn't your matte be an extension of your painting and highlight its best qualities?

A blob of metallic gold paint (or your paint color of choice), and a sponge brush, and presto you've added the finishing touches to your brand new matte.

My matte is ready, my DIY art is ready, time to hang it! Click here to see how I painted the piece below.

While You've Got That Paint In Your Hand...

Oh, and one last little tip while you have that paint in your hand... If you love the design of your frame, but the hue is just a little off, a thin transparent layer of the paint of choice may just make all the difference! 

Happy matte making you artist you!

The Wannabe Artist

Being the daughter of an artist can be...well, inspiring, sometimes frustrating. Occasionally you watch him paint and it makes you think "hey, I can do that!"...but you can't. Nope, you never can. It has given me a healthy appreciation for having art on my walls however.
Now, I'm desperate to find the perfect stunning piece for my high living room wall, something that your eye is drawn to when you enter the room, something that sets the tone, and the pallet just tumbles off of into the rest of the space. 
Then I saw this gorgeous painting by Emily Jefford... 

...and now no other piece will do! Bummer! I can't have this specific piece, I can't afford to commission a piece...uh oh, I feel that artistic pull again, you know what this means.  I have fallen back into that fantasy, that somehow I can "do it myself". So here we go again...
And because I am dedicated to sharing all the details and how-tos, artist or not, fail or succeed, I'm sharing how I created this piece for my living room inspired by Emily's perfect piece. 

My Studio
Just kidding, I don't have a studio, just my living room. I wanted to paint the piece in the lighting from the room it would hang, so a piece of cardboard atop the coffee table is my station for today. And by the way, you shouldn't try this at home! When I wield a paint brush or roller, I'm meticulous. Crazy as this sounds, I don't usually use plastic when I paint walls, I never drip, and I don't get paint on my clothes unless I intentionally used them as a brush cleaning tool. Accidents can always happen, so I should have at least protected the area from spills, but I confess I didn't. *shrug* Let's paint!

My Paint Materials & Tools

Much like my studio, I admit my supplies are a bit...shall we say ghetto creative? *grin*
We've got wall paint, craft paint, and real painters paint half dried up! I'm using paper plates and bowls as my art pallet, and my kids paint brushes from their school art set. Yep, nothing too fancy here!
The most profession items I am using are these leftover gouache paints my dad sent me years ago, most of them were dried up but some were still viable! I read up on gouache paint to make sure it would mix with the other paint types, which they do with the exception of a couple possible colors/brands.  If you are afraid your leftover paints won't react well together, test them before use. 

As I mentioned, I am also using a wall paint sample I got free from Lowes (after coupon), and a small assortment of acrylic and "craft" paints (which I just realized are actually just acrylics labeled for the consumer).

However the star of this show is going to be the metallic gold paints. I am mixing my greens with a very buttery gold to get more sparkle, and I'll be using other golden hues for my mountain ranges.

Let's Talk About "How"

First let's talk about my mistakes. Hopefully you can avoid them and get a leg up on this project.

Mistake #1: I wish I had prepared the canvass with a couple layers of gesso before painting. I prefer a smoother, less canvass-y texture.

Mistake #2: I should have laid down a better paint base. Once my first painting attempt dried, I realized I could see white canvass spots peeking through at me. Basically I dived right into "detail" without starting with a base. Big no-no, I should have known better. I had to go back and paint over top a second time. 

Mistake #3: I was timid with my colors and brush strokes. When I look back at the inspiration painting, I see a greater use of colors to create dimension. For example: when non-artists like you and I paint a tree, we think brown for the trunk and green for the leaves. In reality, artists understand that there is a much greater range of colors that make that tree realistic. They will use purples to make the shadow, leave smudges of yellow and grey to make reflective spots, etc. If you want to imitate a painting, look at it for what it is, then take a more literal look at the colors actually used. You might discover that your favorite painting of a tree didn't have any brown or green. Neat right?

Mistake #4: Not keeping my brushes moist enough. Whether not using enough paint, or not keeping my brushes wet, somehow I had a lot of dragging brush strokes to correct. Almost as if the paint lost steam across it's stroke and puttered out. Not the effect I was going for. 

One of these days I'll get a professional on the blog to show you (and me) how it's done. In the meantime, you want the deets on how I managed my novice version? 

Here are the basic strokes I used... 

1. Lots of sweeping strokes. Especially using curved sweeping strokes for my sky. 

2. Let's call this motion dabbing. I wanted to use the brush to create the subtle texture of bushes and grass.

3. I like to call this the drag and drop. I wanted the light areas to associate a little more with my dark areas, and would occasionally drag my brush from one hue into another and drop it there leaving a fanned brush imprint.

Well, I've learned from this experience that I am no skilled artist, but I can sure enjoyed painting! I learned a few things, and as they say "practice makes perfect". 

Now have an art piece that I can call my own, and a few hundred still in my pocket (or being spent on our heating bill).

Always saving a buck (or yet another $50!) I had to be a little "creative" with the matte and frame to house my new piece, but I'll share more here. *wink* 

Chair Happy...

Ladies and Gents, we officially have a Living Room! Because without great seating, you just don't have a living room. 
Remember a week ago when I said I didn't have much luck with seating in my house? Well it seems my luck has changed. Oh happy day! I joined a local Facebook garage sale group and I've been on cloud 9 ever since. No seriously, I'm so happy I've broken out in song, dance...dude I did the moon walk last Sunday when I got my dream couch. Be glad you weren't here to see that, my kids were wide eyed. *giggle* 

My Dream Couch For $400? Pinch Me!
My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw this couch listed for $400 on Facebook. Yep, I said $400!!! Yes, it had a few stains I had to get out, and a couple tiny ripped seams in the upper back corner, but I've already repaired them. I discovered muscles I never knew I had cleaning this couch...turns out the Rug Doctor works better than the YMCA...who'da thunk? 

Choices, Choices...
Not only did I manage to score a fantastic couch, I found two swoop armchairs via Meijer online for under $100 each. I wasn't particularly fond of the print, but to pay $100-$300 less per chair, I'll sew a cover for them and call it a day. Then I found these awesome mid-century modern chairs via the Facebook garage sale group for $30 each! Now I have this tough choice:

I like a classy transitional look, but I'm all about shaking things up a little and being my eclectic self as well. I love the swoop armchair, but I'm leaning pretty hard toward the mid-century modern chairs in this particular space. The mid-century mod chairs are undeniably the most comfortable chairs we own, plus it looks more natural next to the couch. The swoops will lock this room in as traditional, and almost makes it feel more show-roomy and less live in. I think I may put the swoops in my sitting room or possibly dining room as they are a bit "stiff" looking. 
I can't believe that inside of a one week period I've gone from icky couch, and no chairs, to style  making seating! 
This living room has hope now people! Next I have some ideas about art and lighting...

Pinspired Living Rooms

The blogosphere is chock full of gorgeous living rooms... sadly none of them are mine. Well not yet anyway.
It is ironic, I've spent all my time on the little rooms (closets, bathrooms, laundry room, etc.) because I just haven't been inspired when it comes to my main rooms. Of course, when you have a ratty couch with holes in it, it is hard to be inspired. Now that I'm ready to give my living spaces a little TLC I'm also ready to look at other peoples beautiful spaces and be inspired rather than pick sadly at my old couch. *wry grin* *shrug*

Some Gorgeous Inspiration

This first picture is from the talented Julia Ryan, see her entire show stopping home here. Tell me this couch doesn't say statement! It takes skill to work a curvy couch into a rectangular room...oh to have a sensational piece of furniture! Admit it, this is where many great rooms begin, with fundamentally great pieces!

I love bold color, patter, and texture that work together. I can't say that I'm naturally bold, if I manage to bring anything bold to my space it will be after along drawn out fight with myself. This family room from House Beautiful proves that color is not our enemy and if we are afraid of it we may miss out.

This photo is from a blog that is new to me Cuckoo 4 Design and am I glad I stumbled across it! How pretty is this room?! I think I'm in love with grey's, blues, and silvers. I know I know, last month it was a passionate affair with gold...do you think I'm ready to go back to silver? We'll see... *saucy smile*

I know this is not a picture of a living room, but I have a piano in my living room and am in need of piano styling inspiration. This decor by Emily A. Clark (and the photo) is absolutely stunning. Occasionally I hold the laptop up in front of my own piano wall so I can imagine this is my house. *chuckle* *blush*

Who says small spaces can't be stylish? Michelle from Iron & Twine has taken a simple palette and created a beautiful living space. This space really feels homey to me, not stuffy or over stylized...I feel like I would be very comfortable walking into this space and having a cup of tea with her. That is a feel worthy of creating!

See more inspiring living spaces via my Pinterest board. And please remember to pin these gorgeous photos from my Pinterest board or from the source! Thank you! 

Follow Home Made by Carmona's board Living Spaces on Pinterest.

January Highlights & Happenings

This has been by far the craziest strangest month! 
The frigid cold we have been experiencing around the Great Lakes has put a bit of a hamper on my projects. Without the ability to work in the outdoors (or at least allow for some ventilation), not a whole lot is getting done around here. Anything that requires sawing, painting, sanding, or building is pretty much out. Yep, I am definitely ready for a warm up! I think I'm experiencing project withdrawal.

Thank You For The Feature!
The bright side of being stuck indoors during this cold snap? Well, I've been spending more time on small (but necessary) projects to help streamline life. This month I did pieces for SheKnows, Buzzfeed, and One Kings Lane. Not only were they a lot of fun to do, but it allowed me to finally tackle some projects that have been on my mind for a while!
In case you missed it (but how could you miss it? I think I talked about it twice already)...another exciting feature that came out this month was my storage solution in Good Housekeeping magazine!! Can you believe it?? Someone pinch me! No wait don't do that, if I'm dreaming I don't want to wake up. *grin*

I also want to give a big thank you to AKA Designs, Mommy Page, and Apartment Therapy for the features this month! You guys make my heart go pitter-patter!

January, My Month For Love (and a great gift!)
Many of you are gearing up for Valentines day in February, but January is my month for love. My hubs and I just had our 10th anniversary last week! I've always hated that joke about men giving women appliances as being the worst thing they could do. We're both so cheap we try to make things last as long as possible, and we don't usually put money toward unnecessary items. So it turns out that the one thing I've wanted more than anything for the past few years is a new vacuum. After fixing, patching and MacGyver'ing this vacuum long past it's life expectancy it finally died....and it was a rather long, painfully drawn out death. *grimace* 

Happiness is when your husband says affectionately that you can buy a vacuum, and it turns out to be the BEST anniversary gift you could ever desire! No seriously, it hurt spending that $179, but once this puppy was in my house I ripped open that package like a kid on Christmas morning, eagerly assembling my new toy! I confess, I can be such a man sometimes...there were quite a few parts and I ran into a small hitch figuring out what went where, but could I take two minutes to look at the instructions or the diagram? Oh no...that would be too logical. *grin* Don't worry, I got it put together eventually.
Now I can't seem to stop vacuuming...which is ironic because I don't like to clean. It's like a new toy I can't put down, and it is a bit disgusting how much dirt I've gotten out of my carpet. I think maybe my vacuum stopped working long before we stopped using it. So far I love the way the Shark handles, waaaay better than the Hoover I had before, but we'll see how well it stands the test of time. *fingers crossed*

What To Expect In February
I'm doing it, I'm taking the leap and attempting to tackle the living areas in my house. I say "attempt" because as hard as one may try to bring a room together, without the proper key pieces (or any idea what to do with the space) it can be a slower process than anticipated. 
Let me show you what I mean. Here is the living room which opens to the sitting room, before the previous owners moved out: 

Well, the previous owners seem to have found a way to make this long dual space work for them. But what happens when you first move into a space and then try to make your pre-existing (hand-me-down) furniture work? Meh...that's what happens. It looks meh. 

This may take a couple few months. You know me, when there is a lot to do I'm dedicated to showing you the ups and downs, the how-to's, the organization, and making it happen with extreme frugality! 
Well, wish me luck...I'm going to need it. 

One Kings Lane & My Statement Chair

If I had to choose the one feature that I felt made the biggest impact on a room, it would be the the seating. There is something so satisfying about falling into a perfectly cozy, gorgeous come-hither chair. You can walk into a room, and admire it's beauty, but unless you are enveloped in comfort, it just doesn't feel homey.
So when One Kings Lane contacted me to feature a statement chair from my home as well as share their new Home Decor Resource Guide, I took one look around my house and realized (much to my dismay) that I didn't own a single good piece of seating furniture I loved. As much as I adore well designed seating, I can't say I've had much luck in the past with finding good seating... Whether because of cost, design, or the disagreement on what qualifies as "most comfortable", my husband and I had yet to find seating we both love. A big part of the fun of the Home Decor Resource Guide was learning what style we each prefer, and a little bit of the history behind each style. I learned that my ideal sofa would be the Tuxedo sofa, and that I am a bit more classic than modern in my taste in chairs.

Thankfully my luck seems to have changed, because the other day I ran across what could be my perfect corner chair at Goodwill! 

My Statement Chair (to be)
The moment I spotted it I knew I had to have it, and when I saw the $15 price tag, it was over. Now, I'm not usually keen on bringing home upholstered goods from thrift stores, but I knew I could reupholster this baby and wash the cushion within an inch of it's life! 
Look at that gorgeous tufting! I will do my best to see if I can replicate that same tufting with the new fabric!

Help Me Decide!

There are so many fantastic things I can do to update this classic chair, and I have three fun upholstery options I'm hoping you'll help me choose between! The fabric choice will also help me choose what finish I should do on the wood and caning, if any at all!

Which do you think I should choose? Cast your vote here: