Sometimes we just need a little "Refresh"

Whether it's as simple as a room that needs a little freshening or a piece of furniture that needs a facelift, sometimes we just need a little "Refresh" for a breath of new life. That is true with our surroundings but also true in our lives.

Getting ready for a fresh, new look

Take this table for instance, It started life in the 50s with a mint green paint color. When it came to me, I sanded it and refreshed it with the look above. But, after 10 years it was time. Time for something different and new to spruce it up and give it new life.

After a  fresh coat of paint.

Sometimes you have to take a closer look and
make sure you are at peace with what you see.

New paint and a gleaming new surface help
this old 50s table to feel bright and fresh.

Refreshing our home can involve something as simple as a new paint job or updating an existing piece of furniture or moving the piece to a new room. Much like a life 'refresh', sometimes we just need to take an afternoon off and get a pedicure but there are times that we are being called to change our situation, our location, or our circumstances. Sometimes it is simple and easy and can make a world of difference. Oftentimes the process can be laborious and painful but the results are always worth it! 


How do you refresh?


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Hooking up this week to:

Mod Vintage Life

Masterpiece Monday

Motivate me Monday at Crafts Keep Me SaneCraft-O-Matic

Spring has Sprung a Mantel

Can you believe it is only March? Our temps were 20 degrees higher than normal today. Serious. There is a whole lot of sun going on in Michigan and who wouldn't have spring fever anyway? Great time to get out the spring decor for sure and take part in "The Great Springtacular Linky Parade." Thanks to the lovely blog hosts for having such a great par-tay!


Let me begin by saying that my mantel is always frustrating. It is wide and not very deep at all. So, most anything that you might put up there will not fit, does not stay up, and then falls onto the floor and breaks! So, I've come up with nifty, tricky ways to make it work over the years short of getting out the glue gun and gluing everything down!

Lots of light reflection brings in the sunshine!

Lovin' the spring green that pulls in the color of my living room.

Little touches of spring greens and whites are
what make my spring bright!

Even the candles are spring green!

Changing out the wreath on my mirror is the simplest way
to keep up with the seasons.

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Swing Into Spring at DIY by Design

IT's Fun to be a Copycat!

When I saw this table at Pottery Barn, I fell in. love.

Quick photo taken with my phone that was hidden under my shirt!!

Well I certainly wasn't expecting to ever have my own Pottery Barn table like this, way out of my budget for sure. But, little did I know that one day...my hubby would come home with a BIG surprise. He found a cool old desk on the curb as he was dropping our kids off. The funniest part? He drove all the way home to describe it to me and ask if I wanted it. Really? Was that even necessary?

Bless his heart, he drove back to get it and it was still there, looking a bit worse for the wear but oh, the character!

Look at this beauty!

It actually sat in the middle of my kitchen for a couple of weeks and I was seriously tempted to keep it there. Never thought I really had room for a kitchen island but loved the extra counter space. But, it was a bit too short. So, I looked at it, and thought, looked at it, and thought and decided it would make a great coffee table. Time to get busy!

Chop go part of the legs, took the top off and started painting.

Chopped!

Table with no top

My hubby cut off about 2 inches down the side of the table top where there was a big gash, I sanded them and mixed a little leftover brown paint with clear glaze and water. Then, I simply painted the top with my mixture, let it set a minute, and wiped it back. Really let's the woodgrain show through! Painted the base of the table top with Heirloom White spray paint. Beautiful color! 

Love the rustic charm, even has a little warp in the tabletop.

Up close and personal

My DIY Rescue a.k.a. Curbside Beauty

Hookin it up this week at:

The Room that never quits

My dining room is like a cat...it has 9 lives. Well, who knows, maybe even more? Currently on it's 4th life, but who's counting the first life, which was really no life at all (a.k.a. the lackluster way I found it when we moved into the house). Wish I could show you all but trust me when I say that A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. would have been an improvement.


However those were the days pre-blog and I'm pretty sure I have pictures somewhere but if I took the time to find them, I might not come out alive! So, with a desire to rip out cover the textured walls that were previously coated with a smooth skimcoat border right smack in the middle of the wall, going around the whole stinkin' dining room...whoops, I'm digressing. Anyway, you get the picture but if you really want to see pictures, you can check out a few of the transformation process right here. Now, for the reveal!

Trying to get a good shot of the whole room is tough. The room is
small and locked in.

Rug from Lowe's at a GREAT price!

Ceiling was painted a light grey, including the
ceiling medallion. Then a coat of silver metallic
was added.

Mirror was on the clearance rack at HomeGoods.

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Thanks for visiting!

The Decorating Chica.
Linking up this week to:


Show and Tell Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design
Nifty Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggaritaville
116th Power of Paint Party at Domestically Speaking
Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch to Yours

Where there is no vision...

The age old question. Most people usually start addressing this as they are getting ready to graduate high school. Well, I am no different. I asked those questions then and I ask them now.

In this picture, I wasn't worried about a thing...ahhhh.

Some people though, have the answers early on. They seem to always have set goals and know exactly what they want to be or what they want to do when they grow up. Me? Not so much. Life has been a series of seasons for me and each season has brought new ideas and new goals. But oftentimes, those goals are dictated by the circumstances I am in.


So, when I received an email that asked "What does my blog want to be when it grows up? Wow, that was tough. I didn't have many answers so I decided to spend the week thinking about it. Now the week is up and, yup, I'm kind of clueless. This led me to reading a lot of the posts from people just like me who are daring to dream and set goals. Some far reaching and some easy. Proverbs says that "without vision, the people perish." I kind of feel like I'm perishing at times because I don't have much in the way of vision. 

I think a little history is in order. I feel like I am new to the blog world although in reality, I have been blogging for a couple of years but honestly? I did not really have the time to blog because the pressure that I allowed from reading all those fantastic blogs took me away from doing what I loved to...decorate. So I figured that the decorating was more important to me and reading about the decorating, grabbing ideas and inspiration was great also so why worry about writing a blog. But there is this part of me that wants to pursue the blogging. So here I am trying to cast some vision for my blog. 


1. Inspirational. I get so inspired when I read others blogs. I get so many ideas that spine into other ideas and combinations of ideas. I want to do this for others as well. Big task? Yup.




2. Relationships. The world is getting smaller and it is possible to build relationships with people all over the world. I want to build relationships with other like-minded women who want to simply make their home as beautiful and as inviting as possible

3. Presentation. Yup, it's all in the presentation. In the case of blogging, presentation involves good photography, good content, and good ideas. Now THAT is big!

4. Empowering. I have had the pleasure, over the years, to empower local friends to step out of their comfort zone and do things that they never thought they could. Mostly in the area of home improvement. I love that feeling and want to empower others out there to know that they can do most anything they set their mind to. I hope that what they see in my blog and in what I do can empower others to know they can do it to!

5. Challenging. Most important to me is to keep growing my skills and myself into being a better person, making my home beautiful, and learning valuable trades along the way. I want to challenge others as I have been challenged.


From the time this started to the time I started writing (5 minutes ago) this post has gone down a road I didn't expect and is leaving me with a lot to live up to. It feels vulnerable to be me, present 'me' to the world and see how I'm received. But, here goes!


The Decorating Chica

ThistleWood Farms "What do you want your blog to be when it grows up?"