Monday, November 24, 2008

Hot Pink Anyone?

I'm hoping to get my Christmas decorations up right after Thanksgiving. "Hoping" being the key word. It all depends on my knee. The thought of carrying a crapload of boxes up from the basement doesn't sound appealing to me. But we'll see how it goes. Anyway, my point is that as I was thinking about changing out all the decor for the holidays, it occurred to me that I haven't shared the new living room makeover with all my peeps.

Remember back in April when I had the living and dining rooms painted? Well, I'm still not quite done with the whole re-do. Ah c'mon.... you know me. The procrastinator that took over a year to complete her bedroom makeover. That's me. LOL! But don't worry. I'm almost done. I just have to finish sewing the beading onto the curtains and then have someone help me hang another set of rods. Then it'll be complete. So I won't reveal the entire room until then. But I'll show you a few of the finished corners, okay?

First of all, there's the fireplace. I originally had the chimney painted the same color as the two accent walls. But the more I lived with it the more it just didn't feel right to me. It felt off balance. The color was too heavy for the top of it. So I decided to paint it back to white but change the mantle to the hot pink color.Then I had an epiphany! I love damask. Love love love it. My new curtains have a damask print. As do a few accent pillows on the couch. Wouldn't it be cool to stencil a damask print onto the chimney, I thought? Hmmmm... why the hell not. It's my house, right? So I did.Here's an "in progress" pic. And down below a close up. Isn't it beautiful? So dainty, so detailed.But it was a pain in the ass to paint. Let me tell ya. But whoever designed the stencil was a genius. Because it's only one large sheet. I just had to line up the design and overlap it. Kind of like doing a puzzle.
Here's a before shot. Before the paint job, new accessories and the room makeover.........Here's the new look. Wow... what a difference paint makes on that brick. I had no idea it looked so dirty before. I love cheap and easy decorating so I'll share a few of my tricks with ya. See the apothecary jars on the mantle? I paid half as much buying them from a discount store. Yet they look exactly like the Pot-tery Barn ones. Some of the filler items were so expensive. So I came up with this on my own. Those balls look like moss or some other fancy looking thing, right? Again something out of PB. Go ahead and click on the pic to check it out up close. But it's just a $1 bottle of green craft paint and a $3 bag of styrofoam balls. Uh huh... pretty clever, eh? The other jar is just shiny green glass marbles. Another before pic.Ta da..... after. The accent walls are a brighter hot pink now. Here's another cost saving idea. Instead of buying all new picture frames, I spray painted almost all of them black for a new look.I love my wall words. My house is my sanctuary. There's no place on earth I'd rather be than safe and warm, cozy and comfortable in my own home. The home that reflects me. Who I am. My bold, bright, colorful, eclectic, hot pink personality. There truly is no place like home. So I put that sentiment on the wall.But of course I had to credit the person who originally clicked her heels together three times and said it first. :)Another favorite thing is my new glass candle holders with my pink and green polka dotted candles. Love these!! Another great budget buy. I've seen the EXACT same candle holders in the PB catalog listed at about 5 times what I paid for these at Hobby-Lobby during a half off sale. Seriously addicted to that store. Art can also be very expensive. I knew I wanted a trio of frames here matted in white. I wanted to hang them high because I wanted my wall words at eye level. Three frames at Wallymart on sale for $15 a piece. Woo Hoo! Since I couldn't find a matching set of three prints that I liked, I just found some pretty scrapbook paper to put in the frames. I created my own art for less than $50 bucks.While I'm on a roll here I'll show you some of the dining room. This is the new china cabinet I splurged on. But hey... when I'm saving money elsewhere I can afford to splurge on some things. (Plus the store had 3 yrs same as cash and China has a 4+ yr wait so I couldn't resist. LOL!) That's a finished pair of curtains. Notice how the top panel matches the chair cushions. My mom made the curtains and I re-covered the chairs. Also added the new light fixture.The back window only has one half of a curtain. I need to bead the other panel and then do the living room curtains, too. But it took me 2 and 1/2 hours just to finish this one the other night!This is why. The beading has to be sewn on by hand. And I'm not very good at it. The living room curtains were originally gonna match the ones in the dining room. But I re-designed them. I decided to use the damask fabric as the two side panels with the stripe as a valance that hangs on a separate rod over top of them. But the valance will stretch across my entire front window. All 128 inches of it. That's 128 inches of beading that needs to be hand sewn, peeps. Now you understand why it's not finished?Oh and remember way back when I beaded my new lamps to match these curtains? Well, clearly it was before April because in this pic the wall behind it hasn't been re-painted yet. Again more proof of my terrible procrastination habit. LOL!So whatcha think of it all? I'm certainly gonna have to do a lot of painting if I ever decide to sell this house. Cuz I realize my taste is pretty bold and not everyone will share my love of these colors. But it's my house. And I absolutely love it! It makes my heart smile every time I walk thru the door. Sometimes I just sit on the couch and look around at how beautiful it's turning out. It feels like home to me....

32 comments:

Rhonda said...

Now I'll admit that hot pink isn't my favourite colour in the world, but I SERIOUSLY love what you did with your fireplace.

Michelle said...

Oh, I LOVE it!! My house is pretty girly, with a "shabby chic" theme going on, but my husband drew the line at pink! We compromised on a lavender color, but pink would still be my dream color.

I wish we had Hobby Lobby's where I live. I always hear bloggers talking about it.

Anonymous said...

LOVE IT!!!!!!

Marla said...

OMG, I freaking love your fireplace! That looks fantastic! And I'm right there with ya on Hobby Lobby. Gotta love most of the store being half price all the time. :)

Kayce said...

Looks GREAT!! I love your wall words too.

Lindsay said...

Yeah for you for decorating in your style. I think it looks great. What does it matter if it's not to everyone's style: it's your home and what you like that matters. I love the fireplace and the wall words especially - the lettering looks fantastic.

A Beautiful Mess said...

Looks fantastic! And sooo very Krista:) I love that you are a tough cop....and your home decor is so girly!!

Please please please buy a white christmas tree and decorate it to match your room!!

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

I LOVE what you did to the fireplace....very cool!! You did a fantastic job on these two rooms....the china hutch is a great piece.....and I like the funky curtains!!

You really made your mark on the house and I think it is awesome.....I wish we had a hobby lobby....they don't have those around here!!

Have a great week and Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Lisa

Ava's family said...

The fireplace turned out AMAZING!!
You're one talented chick! I'm even digging your pink china!

Anonymous said...

WOW - I love it! That fire place rocks!

Stephe said...

Girl, I'm in LOVE with damask!! I love the mantal. LOVE the hot pink. I'm not sure I'm brave enough for my house, but god, I just love the way it looks. Love the writing on the wall!!!

Love the before and after photos! It's pretty amazing!!!

Briana's Mom said...

Very chic! Great job!

I am addicted to Hobby Lobby!

Joannah said...

Your house looks great, and I think you're ready for your own gig on HGTV!

Polar Bear said...

Wow! You are so VERY clever! I would have never thought of some of those things. Shoot! I would never have thought of any of them. I am not very decor savy. :)

Looks so you!! Awesome job!!

~ Alison said...

That's certainly one perk of being a single woman & homeowner . . . u can make all the decor choices!!!

I *love* it!! Awesome job.

Hope you're knee is back to normal soon - and all our best to Aunt Norma.

~ Alison said...

I mean 'your' knee - LOL

Lumpy said...

I think it is obvious no men live in this house.

t~ said...

It's so you!~ The fireplace turned out amazing. I love damask as well. I also love your wall words and I'm highly jealous that my wall words are crooked and yours are not!

Gorgeous china cabinet as well!

Anonymous said...

I'm a firm believer in the whole "making your heart smile" thing when it comes to your home. You should enter your home and feel like it is you.
I love the lettering on the wall. Too cool!!

Julie said...

It looks great! I especially love the stencil on the fireplace.

Suzie said...

Wow! I love the stencil on the fireplace. You did an amazing job on it. I can't wait to see what Mia's room looks like :o)

Linda said...

I love your rooms. After seeing them I feel like I know you alittle!! Really believe your home is your sanctuary..I come home and feel like no one can touch me if I don't want and I'm at peace. Keep on making your home your space and if you ever have to sell..Hire painters... Linda

Abby's Mom said...

WOW you are talented!!! IT looks great. Awesome job :)

Carla said...

You are so artsy. It's really rather annoying. Why couldn't I get just a couple creative genes, dammit?

Love the polka dotted candles, and the fireplace looks great.

4D said...

Great job! Pretty in pink fer sure!

Keep smilin!

Pug Mama said...

dude.....you've been busy!

Anonymous said...

I gotta tell ya...you are in the wrong business!! You could be on Trading Spaces as one of the designers! And doing it so inexpensively, too! Polka dots are my favorite so I love the candles. Great idea about the styrofoam painted balls. Can I hire you?

cougchick said...

I am SOOOO impressed. Good job. I wish I had the gumption to do that.

Michal said...

Your house looks amazing! I can't believe how much you have done and how great it looks- I'm impressed. I have to show Evelyn these pictures we are about to re-do her room in pink and she keeps insisting on red and green, when she sees this I know she will cross over from the dark side and embrace The Pink.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving o=in your beautiful, homey home. Love, Love, LOVE IT!

C's Mom said...

It's your haven...now enjoy it after all that work.

I love ME's idea of a white tree. That WOULD work well.

Headmeister said...

Girl, you've got serious stones to paint hot pink walls in your house... Go on with your bad self!!!!

Liene said...

You're really a pink lovin' gal aren't you??? It's very cute but being that I'm married, I'd soon be divorced if I tried to "throw-up" that much pink in my house. No way would DH put up with it. We had a mauve-pink carpet in the 1st house we owned and he HATED it with a passion. Wasn't my favorite, but I could easily live with it.