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home decor

Home Decor

My Go-To Styling Accessories

Happy Monday y’all! If you’ve been reading for a bit, you know that my husband and I don’t own our home. Which is a good thing, because our home is ~~U-G-L-Y~~ not cute. We’re still newlyweds, paying our dues in a rental before buying our first home. Because we’re renters, I can’t rely on changing the wall color or ripping out the carpet (through I’d love to). When I’m decorating, I have to be intentional about what I bring in the room. In the last year that we’ve lived in this house, I’ve realized that the accessories I bring in are the most important. The “shell” of the room (flooring, wall color, lighting fixtures) are unchangeable for us, so the accessories matter.

Today I want to share with you the four things I use most often to create vignettes in my home. The staple pieces, if you will. These are my favorite things to decorate with, and can be seen everywhere in my home. If you’re a renter like me (or even if you’re not), these are some things you can use to cozy things up without making any major changes.

1. Books

I use books everywhere! They are great for adding height to smaller items, for making different levels. Styling accessories takes a bit of practice (which I’m still learning), but stacked books can add another dimension to whatever it is that you’re displaying. I absolutely love old versions of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. They come in a variety of colors, and the patterns are beautiful. I find them at thrift stores and garage sales usually for $1 each or less. With something so inexpensive, you really can’t go wring!

2. Candles

I love to use candles not only for decor, but for practical purposes as well. They provide a soft light, warmth, and a certain coziness to a space. I usually will have one scented candle burning at a time, along with other white unscented candles. I buy candles from IKEA. They are sold in sets, usually a few dollars for several candles.

3. Trays

Trays are great because they are like an anchor for pieces you want to display. They work especially well for areas like coffee tables, where the space is versatile. I like to have pieces on my coffee table, but it can be a pan to move things constantly. Having your accessories displayed on a tray makes moving things easy! This is especially helpful if you have little ones around (or so I’m told).

4. Flowers

My favorite thing of all! I always have them around somewhere! Whether you’re using faux or fresh (I use both, though I’m partial to fresh), flowers can make a huge impact. Each week when I’m doing my grocery shopping, I stop by the floral section and pick up an inexpensive bunch or two. Fresh flowers add a nice scent (obviously), and an element of thoughtfulness to a room.

So there you have it, friends. These are the things that I use in my home to add dimension. If I’m in a pinch, these are my go-to pieces. I use them all most frequently when I’m styling (or restyling, then restyling again) a room. I hope you’ve found this helpful! Do you use these in your home too? I’d love to hear about it! That’s all for today, friends. Have a fabulous day!

June 8, 2015 by Fawn Rumfield

Dining Room Table Makeover

Hey Y’all! Today I’m sharing what is hands down my favorite project to date. This is definitely the biggest impact project I have done, and I am IN LOVE with the result.

So, cue the before picture:

This dining set has seen better days. I believe it’s from Target, but I’m honestly not even sure. My husband bought it for $50 long before we were married from a couple who was moving. It had been their newlywed table, and we inherited it as our newlywed table. It’s not awful, but it’s a dark, basic, “starter” table in all its MDF glory. Clearly not my favorite thing. You can see why I needed to update this baby.

I got my first supply of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for my birthday, and I decided to give it a try.

This labor of love took several days, but it was so worth it. As you can see, I started with a coat of Annie Sloan’s Old White. What’s shown here is the very first coat. I ended up doing two full coats and a third coat just in certain areas.

This is the end result of my hard work. I wanted to go for a bit of a distressed look (not too much), so I lightly sanded around the natural edges of the chairs and tables.

That messy porch workshop of mine. Sorry, y’all. In the photo of the table, you can see that I painted about an inch onto the tabletop. I didn’t paint the whole thing, because I felt like that would just be a waste. I didn’t want any unpainted parts to show through when I added the top though, so I just painted around the edges.

Next comes the wax. Chalk paint needs an application of wax after the paint is dry. It’s a tricky process, but I seemed to manage. I think I’m going to do a separate post on my experience using this paint. Anyway, once the wax was applied, it was time to work on the tabletop.

First thing I did was sand the sharp edges of each board. We used 8 1×6 cedar planks cut to 42 inches (the width of our table). I wanted a rustic look, but not a give-you-splinters-while-you’re-eating-dinner look.

Then I stained each of the boards. I have learned by now that gloves are a must while staining. Just…don’t go to school with stain all over your hands and knees. Your students will not appreciate it.

This is the stain I used:

As you can see in the above photo, the color on the can isn’t quite how it turned out, but that’s alright. Up until this point, this project had been completely mine. I did have to enlist my husband to help with the next step, though.

We lined the tabletop with the newly stained boards, and nailed them in place.

Can I also just say that nail guns are really awesome? Okay, that’s all.

I added a coat of Polyurethane to the top to protect the finish. The poly brought out the wood grain even more and made the top look SO GOOD.

This photo shows how much the poly enhanced the wood grain. Hello, beautiful. After this, we waited for it to dry so we could move it back into the dining room. Never mind the fact that the dining room had been awkwardly empty for a week at this point.

Here she is, my new table! She doesn’t look quite so newlywed basic anymore!

We decided to leave about an inch of overhang on either side to create just a little bit more surface area.

We can’t do anything about the dark carpet or paneling, or wall color, so this table makes a big impact. It lightens up the space so much!

Remember how dark it was before? The before/after pictures were taken at the same time of day! I am loving this table now, and definitely won’t be parting with it for a LONG time.

Like I mentioned earlier, I’m going to do a more in depth post on my experience with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, so stay tuned for that! That’s all for today. Have a fabulous day, friends!

May 26, 2015 by Fawn Rumfield

DIY Projects

Shutter Styling

Hey y’all! Thanks for stopping by! Today I’m sharing a super quick update we made in our master bedroom. A quick and easy thing that I am loving!

Last weekend, my husband and I traveled to Canton, TX to visit First Monday Trade Days. It’s just over an hour from where we live, and it’s one of the largest and oldest flea markets in the United States. This place is seriously AMAZING. If you live in the area (or even if you don’t) I would definitely recommend checking it out. We saw antiques, collectibles, handmade items, junk, and everything in between. Definitely one of the coolest places if you’re looking for unique items. PLUS it’s free admission, so you really can’t go wrong.

While we were there, I picked up some old window shutters. The seller was very confused about why I only wanted one pair, and even when I tried to explain that I wouldn’t be using them on the outside of a window, he was still confused. Sir, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry! I paid $15 for this beauty:

Ignore the water spigot. And the weeds in my yard. Whatevs. Anyway, super dirty and gross, I know. I hosed them down and had the intention of sanding and repainting them. Keyword being intention.

After days of sanding this thing, I was over it. I mean OVER IT. My sander couldn’t reach in all the slats, and I’m pretty sure my hand is still shaking from using it. Now before you judge me, this is not my first go-around using a power sander, just my first go-around sanding shutters. Sanding flat surfaces > sanding EIGHT MILLION nooks and crannies.

So I left them half sanded and left some of the primer exposed. I’m a half quitter. But I’m kind of glad I’m a half quitter because I love the way they are, even without a fresh coat of paint.

We hung them on either side of our bed, just above our nightstands.

I love the rustic feel they bring to the room now.

The woven basket piece is from Target, and the headboard was a DIY project.

And this little print was one I whipped up quickly just to fill space on my nightstand. Whatever works. Overall, I think the shutters add a much needed texture to the room, and I love the warm tone of the wood and the coziness it brings.

I think decorating with shutters might quickly become an addiction. I need more, more, MORE! I’m also thinking a full room tour of this room might be in order soon, so we’ll have to see about that (I have a few more projects up my sleeve first). What about you? Have you used shutters in your home? I’d love to hear about it!

That’s all for today. Have a fabulous day, friends!

May 11, 2015 by Fawn Rumfield

DIY Projects

Vintage Window Styling

Hello there! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time out of your day to read my very first blog post! The purpose of this blog is to document my journey of making our ~~hideous~~ challenging rental place a home. I figured there’s no better way to start off than just diving right in!

A few weeks back, I found a cute vintage window frame at an antique store. I had just the spot in mind at the house, so it came home with me.

I love the color it was when I bought it, but it just wasn’t going to work with the colors I already have going on in my house, so it had to go. I sanded it all down, leaving it looking like this:

I knew I was going to want it to look a little unfinished, so I didn’t worry about sanding too professionally. (But let’s be honest, I probably couldn’t sand like a professional even if I tried.) In this picture you can see my little indoor workspace trick: I use old wrapping paper as a dropcloth. Super easy, and super disposable. Anyway, I then painted the whole thing white, not worrying about looking too uniform. When it was dry, I lightly sanded the edges to give it a bit of a distressed look.

I knew it needed a home above the bed in our guestroom.

Here’s a closeup of the frame. I used some ribbon I had from a previous project to hang these cute miniature wreaths from the top. I got three of those wreaths at a thrift store for a dollar, by the way.

I really love the way this little project turned out. It was quick and easy! Now if only I could figure out what to do about the headboard situation in this room. Another project for another day, I guess.

That’s it for today. Have a fabulous day, friends!

April 6, 2015 by Fawn Rumfield

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