Company's Coming and The Guest Bedroom Mess!!

Company is coming Saturday for the weekend.  And this is how the guest bedroom looks today.

Scary, isn't it?  It has been painted but I am in the middle of painting the guest walk in closet.  So everything that belongs in the closet (such as Christmas Decorations, extra bedding, my sewing machine, etc is stacked in the room.

Come back after the weekend and I will show you the guest bedroom all finished.

And J....if you see this, don't worry it will be ready for you and Tanner on Saturday :-).

How To Create A Lamp From Almost Anything

I have had several requests for a tutorial on creating a lamp.  You can create a lamp from cookie jars, mason jars, bird cages, teapots old books glued together and so many more things!

The latest lamp Mr. Comforts made for me was the old porch balustrade lamp for our master bedroom.

Here is what I started out with.

Here is how it was done.

You Will Need....

A Lamp Kit

Threaded Rod

Plastic Protectors

Spacer

Washer

Lock Washer

Lock Nut

Drill

Drill Bit

Hack Saw

Painters Tape

Drill a 1 inch hole, 1/2 way through the base.  This creates an inset to be able to secure the rod with a lock nut and washer. (The four smaller holes are where the base was screwed and glued into  the balustrade.  Notice how they were counter sunk so the base will rest flatly on a surface.)

In the middle of that 1 inch hole, drill a hole all the way through the balustrade and base with a long 1/2 inch drill bit.  That hole is for the threaded 3/8 inch rod that you will be inserting.

Next, drill a hole in side of base to the center hole, for the cord.

Insert threaded rod into lamp, add washer, lock washer and nut to threaded rod at base, but do not tighten to much.  You will be cutting the threaded rod to height.  You need to measure where to cut.  To do this add spacer and base of socket to threaded rod.  Then add painters tape to mark the spot (see picture below).

Saw off excess threaded rod with a hack saw, file off burrs with metal file.  Tighten washer, lock washer and nut.

Thread cord through SIDE hole on base.

  Add a plastic protector to rod at base and another plastic spacer to rod at top of lamp.  This will protect the cord from fraying.

Slide the cord through the bottom of the rod until it comes out of the top of the rod.  Then add spacer.

Next add harp holder.

Next comes the base and socket.

Attach the wire to the socket following package instructions.  Pull any slack wire back through the bottom of the lamp base.  

Add socket cover and harp.

And you are finished!  What your lamp base is made of,  will determine the length and type of drill bit.  If you are drilling through  ceramic or glass you will need a diamond tip bit.

Now go make yourself a lamp!

 

Linking with:

Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ WOW

Stone Gable ~ Tutorial Tips and Tidbits

No Minimalist Here Open House

The Guest Bath, So Far....

I have been painting, painting and painting!  At this point, all of the rooms have been painted and now I will be able to spend some time decorating them.  Of course, that will take time.  Years perhaps :-).  We never really are done decorating, are we?

Here is the guest bathroom so far.  It is hard to get good pictures in this room.

The white cabinets, counter top, sink, tub and toilet are all original to the house.  We added the knobs to the cabinets.  The rug is also new.  It has reds, blues, greens and yellows in it so it ties in nicely with the rest of the house.

The wall color is called Distant Thunder, buy Olympic Paint from Lowe's.  It is a dark moody gray blue.  

Here is a BEFORE picture, below.  You can see it was painted a lighter blue green, and there were no knobs on the cabinets.  The lighting has also been changed out.

The only natural light comes from the transom window.

But that transom window is not on an outside wall.  It is on the wall shared with my office/sun room.  Here is a picture taken below from my office side.

There is a funny story that goes along with this window.  After our offer was accepted on the house, we were here with the inspector.  While he was inspecting, I was wandering around, decorating in my head.  I had walked into my office area and looked up and realized there there wasn't any glass in the window between my office and the guest bath!!!!!!  It was just an opening!!!!!!  Can you imagine sitting in the office and having a guest use the bathroom?  With that open space between the two rooms?  Someone actually lived here for 8 years with it like that!  We had insulated glass installed.  Now it is sound (and smell) proof, lol!

I added 4 botanical prints to one wall.  I plan on adding a few more.

So, that is my guest bathroom so far.  As time goes on, more pictures, some towels, a small lamp on the counter, will all be added.

French Country Master Bedroom Reveal

I realized that if I waited until each room was totally complete to show you, it would take months(or years).  So I am going to show you my master bedroom, "almost" finished.  Then when I add the curtains and little extras, I will re post and show you the new additions.

In the previous post, I showed you my French chair redo.  You can see it in the picture below on the left.  This is the view when you are walking into the master bedroom.  The door on the very front left is to the master bathroom.

Here is the BEFORE picture below when we saw it staged before we bought the house.

In the picture below I am standing next to the French chair looking across the room.  You can see two walk in closets on either side of a dresser.  I somehow did not take a before picture of this area.  The two walk in closet doors have been replaced with these panel doors.  Originally they were mirrored doors.

Edited to add:  I found the picture of the mirrored closet doors.  Here it is...can you imagine waking up to that wall of mirrors every morning?

On the night stands you can see the lamps we made using vintage porch balusters.  You can see how I stripped and created them, here.  Some of you have asked about a tutorial for wiring a lamp.  Mr. Comforts wired the "twin" to this one today, for his night stand, and I took pictures and notes.  A tutorial is coming soon.

The picture below shows the other side of the room.  The armoire holds our TV.  I hope to add dried hydrangeas to the French market basket on the top of the armoire.   We still need something on the wall next to the armoire.

The shams and duvet comforter are from Pottery Barn.  The pattern is called Alessandra Floral.  It was based on a 250-year-old hand blocked textile from Provence.  The pillow cases with the dotted edge are also Pottery Barn.  The floral needle stitch pillow, I have had for years.  I think I purchased it on EBay. 

The landscape painting over the bed was a find from the Screen Door in Asheville.

The painting above the dresser, as well as the bust were purchased on a trip to France a few years ago.  The coral was my parents, they brought back from Hawaii, before there was a ban on harvesting coral.

I still want to add some curtains/drapes (what do YOU call them?) and a few more wall decorations.  

I love the serene feel of this bedroom.

Up next time....the guest bath. 

Linking with:

Between Naps On The Porch Met Monday
Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Stone Gable - Cowgirl Up
Savvy Southern Style - WOW
No Minimalist Here Open House Party

French Chair Make Over and a Sneak Peak

Remember a while back, I showed you a French chair and footstool that I was making over?  You can read the post here.

Introducing Avian....isn't she beautiful?

To refresh you memory of how she used to look, here is a before picture.

I painted her with Old White in ASCP, sanded and waxed with both clear and dark wax.

Though I tried and tried to get all of the staples out and recover her myself, I couldn't do it without ruining the wood.  So I broke down and took her to an upholsterer.  He did a wonderful job.

I found this wonderful fabric in a creamy linen background and a pretty blue pattern of birds and ferns.

I think she turned out perfect.  When I saw the fabric, I knew I had a color scheme for my master bedroom.  I was looking for something serene.  

You are getting a sneak peak of the color I chose for the walls of my master bedroom.  It is called Cold Steel, though it is not cold at all.  It is a blue gray color, by Olympic Paints from Lowe's.  I have a little more painting to do and I will show you the whole room in the next post.

Linking with:

Savvy Southern Style ~ WOW

Between Naps on The Porch

Coastal Charm

Timewashed

Stone Gable

Jennifer Rizzo

Redoux 

Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Feature Friday

The Polohouse~Favorites on the First

Weather.....

I was going to take some more pictures of my house today to share, but it is raining and foggy outside and dark inside.  

I was also going to start painting my master bedroom today.  But, the fire looked so nice, I made some tea and grabbed my nook and started reading.  I guess I will start painting my bedroom tomorrow.

What did you do today?  Any plans for the weekend?

French Country Living Room Before and After

Our living room is 90% completed!  The painting is done.  A few new pieces of furniture have been bought.  A painting has been hung.  We still have to add curtains.  We still need to hang more art.  But it is starting to feel like home!

Here is what our living room looks like today.

The picture below is a before shot.

The carpet was removed and hardwood floors were installed.  The walls were a dirty beige and are now painted a sunny Belgian Waffle from Olympic Paints.

Remember the niches?  I blogged about what to do with them, here.

Here is what they looked like before.

Here is what I ended up with.

A close up.

I placed a French countryside oil painting in the center, then added a plant, pheasant and some antique leather bound books on the shelf.

I like the way things are shaping up.  So far I have painted the dining room (which I showed you a few weeks back), the hallway, the guest bathroom, the den/library and my office.  I am currently painting the kitchen.

None of the rooms have been decorated.  No pictures hung etc.  That will come soon.  When I get each room a little more complete I will share them with you.

Thanks for coming on my house whispering adventure with me!

edited to add:  Maryaguer mentioned my lamp cords stretching across the floor.  We are going to install floor outlets, like we had in our previous home.  We had to wait to get the furniture layout right before we cut into the wood floors :-).  That will be coming soon.  As with any home remodeling project....one step at a time.

 

Linking with:

Between Naps on The Porch

Savvy Southern Style - WOW

No Minimalist Here