This season's table scape

For some reason, fall seems to be the only season that I can decorate my table completely (what does that say about my favorite season? fall it is!). I changed it up a little this year versus last year, which was really one of the first years I'd ever done a full table scape. Or even had a table. Well, that's not entirely true. Here's a shot of the $100 Wal-Mart table set we had back in the rarely seen North Carolina house. Fancy, huh??



Here's how it looked last year.



Muuuuuch more colorful and put together! And here it is this year.



The only thing I changed were some of the glasses and added some $2 places mats from Bed Bath & Beyond (subsequently where I got the pumpkin colored ones as well last year). Overall, I added it up and each place setting cost a whopping $12. The chargers were in a pack of 6 for $14 (from BB&B). The pumpkin place mats were $2, the napkins were $2, the napkin rings were $3 (all BB&B items). The glasses I picked up at IKEA for a whole $0.57 a piece (and I freaking wanna sky write how much I love them). The vintage place settings I ordered on eBay. I got almost 300 pieces for $20, effectively making them about $0.07 a piece! That's less than a dime folks!!



When I saw these laser cut leaf mats at BB&B I was hooked. Granted, they make me want to sing "O Canada!" but by adding that extra layer to the table, it instantly made it more colorful and fall-ish.



I wonder if I can make them work on top of some gold place mats for Christmas??

Buffets and 'brellas

For a while now I've been wanting something like a buffet for our dinning room. Most military houses have a small breakfast bar (the one we have now is fairly shallow--not even deep enough to pull stools up to), but I wanted something more adequate for decorating and serving on the rare occasion that we have large groups over, like last Thanksgiving. Having all the food up on the bar and everyone scrambling around each other's chairs wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind when I was planning our fancy meal! ;) We've decided not to host Thanksgiving this year--it's most likely the last time all my dad's girls will be in the country together (one of my sisters plans on moving to England with her boyfriend after her last year of school). But I digress. Back to the buffet.

One of the great things about having a day job again is having money for larger projects. I'm not fooling myself--if I can find a buffet for $150 I will be very happy! I'd like something like one of these. Chunky legs and spindles, no boxy shapes like the ones you find in Target and Wal-Mart these days.




I plan on putting it on the same wall that our shelves hang on, but I don't want it to be too deep since that's right near our entryway.

Just by chance, I also happened to come across this photo on The Inspired Room (I'm hooked on the 31 Days series every one's doing), which is from House Beautiful. And I was immediately struck with inspiration!


I have a bunch of these galvanized tin buckets from a cracked out obsessive shopping spree earlier this summer. I picked up two from Michael's, one of which is on our wall unit downstairs...



...and another which is serving as a toilet paper holder in the guest bathroom.


(sorry, there's no good way to photograph anything that sits next to the porcelain god.)
But I have one more, a larger one (right), that I picked up for only $5 at an antique warehouse (it was about the only thing I could afford in there and I was more than happy to take it off their overpriced hands).


I'm thinking that next to my hopefully-soon-to-be-acquired-buffet, filled with a few umbrellas, it will finally find its rightful place in our home! Now my only decision is black or white umbrellas. Against my white walls, black would definitely pop. But next to a black buffet would it be too much? Hmm...

fall decor

Thought I'd share some of the more simple things I've been doing around here. Namely, fall decor.

Here's the table all dressed up for her big debut (see the craziness that was here, here, & here).



The place settings use our everyday dishes from Bed Bath & Beyond (part of their "Everyday White Collection"). Jason has all but forbidden me to buy more sets of dishes. If I get going, there's no stopping me. So, yes, my holiday dishes are also my everyday dishes. ...for now. :) The place mats ($2 each), chargers ($1.70 each--they come in sets of 6 for $10), napkins ($2 each), and napkin rings ($2 each) also came from BB&B. My little pincone name holders happened to be in the big bag of pinecones I got at Michaels.



My lantern centerpiece is something I had laying around from our home in 29 Palms. I bought it at Cost Plus World Market for only $10--I wanted it as a knock off to Pottery Barn's Malta Lanterns, which cost about $40 for the same size. I sprinkled some extra leaves from my garland around the base and unless I can find something else to add, I'll probably call it done.



Moving away from the table, I have to admit that I may have gone a little overboard with my garland this year. ;) I bought four strands at Michael's right after Halloween for $4 each (not bad considering they were originally $12). It started with our bar.




I purchased a box of J-hooks at Home Depot (I call them J-hooks, but I guess they look more like a "?" than a "J"). I was pleasantly surprised to find wood on the underside of our bar. I knew I wanted to put garland there for Thanksgiving, so all it took was a few of the hooks screwed into the wood and I had a garland hanger!

Once that worked, I was on a roll. I quickly tried to assess what else I could hang garland and hooks off of. My eyes fell on my DIY shelves. They were just begging for some fall color. A quick coat of black spray paint made the hooks blend in very nicely. Then I started stringing garland from hook to hook, snipping off the ends to make them fit the length of the shelves.



I recently changed not only their location, but also the items they were holding. These were hanging on the wall next to the kitchen, but every time we rounded the corner we nearly sliced our foreheads open! I'm not sure if I'm 100% satisfied with the vignettes yet, but I like them better now than they were.



I also removed the lanterns I had hanging on the entryway wall and sat them on the shelves. They're much prettier in their new home. And if you've been keeping count, I've only accounted for two of the four strands of garland I bought. The other two are happily adorning our banisters--kept in place by good old fashioned zip ties!


(I swear the garland on the left is centered. The angle just makes it look waaay off!)

Hope your holiday decorating is turning out grogeous!

I'm linking this up to The DIY Show-Off's Holiday Party and Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special! Share your projects too!

it's done!

- Buy Thanksgiving dinner items

- Hang fall garland

- Buy more black paint

- Purchase curtain rings from BB&B

- Disassemble, prime, paint, & reassemble dinning room table

- Set table & table scape

- Paint curtain rings

- Hang remaining rods & curtains

I got dang close to finishing my honey-do list this weekend! Considering a lot of unexpected things came up, I'm a little surprised I got THIS much done. But before I go into the details of the weekend, let's jump right into what everyone wants to see: THE TABLE!







We bought this table back in North Carolina, probably mid-2008, for $50 off Craigslist. It's solid oak and has a removable leaflet (as you probably noticed). When we got it the top was scratched, covered in water rings, and even the old owners kind of felt bad for selling it to us in that condition (now that I think of it, they may have even sold it to us for $40!). But I knew I loved it, I wanted it, and it had potential out the wazoo! To spruce it up we used:

- Citristrip stripper
- Kilz primer
- Rustoleum's American Accents Black paint in a glossy finish
- Krylon black spray paint in glossy (for the edges, base, and legs)
- Foam rollers
- 60-grit sanding block

All that's left to do is the top coat of Minwax polyurethane for a shiny protective eating surface. I wanted to decorate the table top last night, but figured it would be a bit redundant if I was just going to take it off again. The estate sale chairs look SO amazing with it and the entire dinning room has really been transformed.

(If you missed, or would like to revisit, the chair transofrmations visit here and here.)

Okay...I guess that's enough of my gushing. On with the rest of the weekend?

Saturday morning we were up bright and early for the start of our errands. About midway through my mom called and asked if we wanted to meet them for lunch. Not ones to turn down free food we said heck yes! They came by the house afterwards, and my mom couldn't believe the huge transformation the house had already undergone since we've been here (in all fairness, the last time she saw it there were boxes and mish mash piled everywhere).

Saturday night I started bugging my poor sisters about their Christmas wish-lists. No one can believe I'm already doing my Christmas shopping. I'm sorry, but who wants to be out there with all those crowds?! Nooooo thank you. Anyhoo, while I can't say what I bought her (because she has access to my blog, whether she reads it or not) I bought the first Christmas gift of the season for my sister Alyssa via etsy.

I also bought these for me...



I'm such an Alice Cullen nerd. See here and here for more proof.

Sunday morning Jason let me sleep in. It was so sweet of him, and apparently I needed it, but I always feel like the day is wasted if I wake up after nine (I know, I'm crazy). We got to work on the table right away, and I did make Jason help me. I was on a deadline! After we'd finished with the third coats of paint on the table, I managed to make my cooking schedule for Thanksgiving, as well as finish off the list of what we're getting everyone for Christmas. My sisters' mother (I call her my step-mom even though my dad divorced their mom several years ago--can you keep that one straight?!) is getting a homemade gift, as well as my dad's girlfriend. Once again, I can't post what they're getting because they too have access to my blog. And I'm DYING to share with you all what I'm doing--or should I say, copying?

After figuring out that I wouldn't have the car until Wednesday, I threw on some jeans and headed out for some Christmas shopping. Stops included the estate sale place I love, BB&B, Wal-Mart, Michael's and Home Depot. It took me about three hours, but now I'm on way way to having three Christmas gifts done before Thanksgiving!

That's what I call being on track!

Join the party at Reinvented's Trash To Treasure Tuesday! I am!

weekend recap

It was a busy weekend here in The Nut Shell. I'm pretty sure I've done some serious damage to my brain cells from all the paint and fumes I inhaled (I've since bought a face mask for my DIY projects). Completed projects include:

- 4 of 7 chairs painted
- Table top and leaflet stripped {might do a tutorial in the near future}
- Antique store chair primed and painted
- Lamp re-do
- Fall decor updated
- Mini-project: painted pumpkin
- Bookcase

First things first. The chairs (if you missed the original post, visit it here).



I have three more of the double-x back chairs to go. The cushions don't sit perfectly on them, but oh well. I'm learning there's a few oddities with those chairs.

The table is coming right along. I didn't work on it at all today because my little hands and arms hurt from the actual stripping of the paint. I'm hoping tomorrow to get it all wiped down with the mineral spirits, get every thing taken apart and maybe even sanded in preparation for paint and primer.



My antique store chair is coming along as well. But honestly, I'm having the damnedest time trying to figure out a way to reupholster the back. I was trying to use this tutorial from Centsational Girl, but the chair she worked on had a square back--much easier to trace a skeleton for than the curved oval back on my chair. So for right now, it's back to the drawing board. (Don't mind the white center--I didn't see the point in painting it if it was just going to be covered or removed.)



And while I actually worked on this last weekend, I think she's too pretty not to post. I bought this lamp along with my chairs for a mere $12. Shade and all. It's a very heavy lamp and could do some serious damage if I decided to clock a burglar over the head with it. ;) It was a strange color--somewhere between ivory and brown (bone?) with white stripes/streaks in the crevices. A quick coat of primer and two coats of Rustoleum Heirloom White took it from dated to de-lovely!



Now that Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, I've been converting all of my Halloween decor into Fall decor (yes, I make decorations do double duty--it's best if I don't accumulate a lot of "stuff").



I have to point out my super adorable lanterns. I bought them at Cost Plus World Market for about $7, as knock-offs to some $40 Pottery Barn ones. They've been sitting empty because I didn't know what to do with them. A couple Wednesdays ago when I was out with my mom, I picked up two bags of cinnamon scented pine cones from Michael's for about $2 each. I went to sleep one night not knowing what to do with either until (seriously) the solution came to me in a dream. I just filled up my lanterns with the pine cones and added some silk fall leaves. I even have a larger lantern filled up for the table once it's finished. Okay, okay, maybe I'm not the first person to fill lanterns up with pine cones and faux leaves, but it was a light bulb moment for me!

Moving on...

I also did a small paint job on a pumpkin I picked up on clearance. I love white pumpkins, and I love the foam rubber ones that come out every year now. I have several small ones, but took the opportunity of the after-Halloween sale to buy my first large one. I just didn't like the (very crooked) lines that were painted on it. So, primer + Heirloom White = :)



And last but not least, I finally got my big bookcase. We made a trip down to Ikea over the weekend to get it. Really loving everything about it except...



...it's not big enough! We still have MORE books that need shelving. So sometime after Thanksgiving we'll go back for another one.

If you're wondering about the quality of the Ikea Markör bookcases, I can happily say it's pretty solid! The shelves are nice and thick (no bowing) and the whole unit is nicely put together. It seems like the only piece of particle board is the backing (which doesn't bother me).

As you can see, we've been keeping very busy! And I haven't even gone into the bit about our couch--we'll save that for tomorrow. I'm really hoping by the end of this week that the dinning room project will be done. I feel like I'm suffering from DIY overload and I'm dangerously close to just stopping before any of my projects get finished! So it may be Wednesday before I pick up another can of paint. My sanding block however...

I'm linking up to:
- The DIY Show Off's Surprise Party
- Reinvented's Trash to Treasure Tuesday
- Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special!

Thanksgiving: the decor

*My sincerest apologies if you happened to visit during my bandwidth issues with Photobucket. All is restored!

Most of you know that I'm dishing up my first ever Thanksgiving dinner this year. As most you may not know, I use gatherings as an excuse/motivator to get my projects done. Aside from getting the house in order (we've only lived here a mere three weeks!) there were a few things I wanted to do before the family sat down at the table this year:

- Strip and repaint dinning room table and leaflet, including a protective top layer
- Paint dinning room chairs to match
- Get matching dishes (and enough of one set to serve everyone on)

The dinning room table was going to be a project in itself, but then I realized I didn't have enough chairs for everyone to sit on! Eep! Both my mother and grandma said that folding chairs would be just fine, but I refused to serve a somewhat fancy dinner with folding chairs at the table!

I wanted to go for a "Monica Geller-inspired" table set. You know:



All the un-matching chairs? Love the look, but I wanted something a liiiittle more polished. So, here's what I decided to do:

- Buy three un-matching chairs
- Use three of our current chairs
- Give them all a matching coat of paint

So, we visited a local estate sale warehouse, which I've been dying to snoop around in. We drive by it several times a week and it tempts me each and every time. It took me a couple sweeps of the store, but I managed to find three chairs that I thought would be perfect.



On the right is one of our current dining room chairs. Since they're already white, it just takes a couple coats of Rustoleum Glossy Black spray paint to get them in order. This guy still needs another coat of paint and a cushion.



I actually started with my favorite chair (shh! don't tell the others!) since I didn't have to do any real work on it. I absolutely love the curves of this chair. I've seen others like it for $100 a piece, but I snagged this baby for only $35!



Then I added a white seat cushion (Ikea, $6) and voila!



I swear the seat cushion isn't hanging off the side. That's flash and bad lighting for you.

This chair needed a lot of love, but it was only $15 and I was totally up for the challenge. I just cut out the center and jerry-rigged a seat cover. It won't really matter what it looks like since a cushion is going down over it.



The last chair is covered in wood putty. It had a lot of gouges and you could see a lot of the old seams coming through the wood. But I think once I get it sanded down and painted it will sparkle like new! And at only $20, it was worth the extra elbow grease.

Jason's been using the dinning room table to do a puzzle (so cute!) but I told him it was time to put it back in the box. I'm hoping to get it all stripped, sanded, and maybe even repainted by the end of the weekend. Then I can focus on some of the other fun things, like what kind of table scape am I going to do?