First Look: DIY Lounge Wall Unit

We look back and laugh at the confidence we had to just oh, you know, build an entire wall unit in our new home. Our kitchen, dining room and lounge are all in one gorgeous open plan space. Add in the high ceilings, and you have one big empty canvas to work with. After setting up our existing furniture, the lounge seriously lacked character and it quickly became the area you walked through, but didn't actually settle in and enjoy.

I've been following a designer under her brand name Sita Montgomery for a while now, and everything about her home is perfection. She has used a white feature wall unit concept in quite a few of her rooms, and after showing Clint - we just had to have one!

So, the saving of our pennies began. We bought the wood for our project at a fantastic discount rate from a supplier in Pietermaritzburg and started one phase at a time. Bite size tasks. Over the next few Fridays I will be sharing each step with you. Who knows, maybe our crazy notions are right up your alley and you might be inspired to make your very own wall unit?

While we are chuffed as anything to have the main structure on the wall, but we do still have a few things to check off the to-do list:

* Board up the top smallest shelf to "close off" the unit, instead of it looking like floating shelves
* Add white crown molding to take it right up to the roof eliminating gaps
* The two bottom spaces are reserved for cabinets (yikes!) to hide DVDs, board games etc.

* Paint sections behind the wall unit (white?)

* Slowly collect meaningful ceramics, artwork etc to fill our beautiful shelves.

Make your own Tarn reading rug!

You know those really cute and cozy round rugs you see all over blog-land? I wanted one! Badly! I had the perfect spot in the boy's room where little bottoms would enjoy plonking down to read their books on something far more comfortable than the tiles. I'm not a massive fan of shopping at the mall, but when I have popped in - it's always on my list to look out for. Something soft, home-made looking and most importantly, round. There is something extremely lovely about a round rug. I came out empty-handed every time. 

You can imagine my surprise when I actually won six bobbins of 'tarn' along with a crochet pattern on how to make my very own...wait for it.....a Round Crochet Rug! Tarn hosted the fantastic competition. I am so impressed with their broad selection of t-shirt yarn, easy-to-follow patterns and overall brand. I'd highly recommend them for holiday crafting! A glass of something, kids playing in the back yard - all while you are crocheting up something wonderful - pretty awesome! I did exactly that, and after only two days I had made up the most perfect little reading rug. I literally had not crocheted a single thing in over five years and was amazed at how easy it is to pick it right back up. The thick yarn makes it easy to hide mistakes and a stitch picked up here or there. Most importantly, the boys love it. Jack finds a little spot, unpacks his treasures and plays for hours! 

First Look: The Boy's Bedroom

 

While I was busy photographing my latest project in the Boy's room (to follow) - I thought - hey, why don't I show you a little look around at where we are with this space and how we plan to use it?

Jesse (5) and Jack (3) have shared a room for the last year or so, and we all love it that way. When we first looked around our new home, I knew exactly which room was going to be theirs. A sweet room big enough for the two of them with bay windows that look over the back garden. A little boy's dream - they can spot the neighbour's kids heading over with a rugby ball from a mile away!

We moved them in with their original single beds each, kiddie-themed matching duvet sets and a side table that we borrowed from the guest room. We managed to hang the same navy curtains (we wondered if they would be wide enough for the bay windows) from the previous home which saved on moving-in expenses. I also brought in a "toy sorter" that I set up a few months before the move. It's a plastic shoe rack that I converted into a bright & fun storage system. Lastly, we temporarily put a small white bookshelf in place that also used to be in the guest room / baby room. We have a plan to change the entire layout of their room, so everything just went in as is. 

  Since moving-in day, we have made three really fun changes to their little haven:

1) We painted a feature wall behind their beds (same colour as dining room feature wall - bonus!)

2) We added anchor vinyls to the new and improved wall (post to follow)

3) I crocheted a tarn reading rug for next to their bookshelf (post to follow)

Over the next few months we would like to change things up a bit to accommodate their new-found love of drawing and lego etc. Basically, they need more of a big-boy space.

*Bunk beds. This dream is coming true this week-end - more floor space, hooray!

*New duvet cover sets. As much as it might not be "stylish", I really didn't mind having my kids choose out their bedding from good ol' Mr Price. It also definitely helped them transition from baby room to big boy room. Having said that, they've moved onto bigger, more important things, and bedding just isn't on their priority list. Hooray, now Mommy can shop! I'm not entirely sure what I am looking for yet, but I will know it when I see it, ya know? Just not too matchy-matchy.

*The side table will move back into the guest room.

*In place of the white bookshelf, we'd like build a custom desk that will allow both boys to comfortable sit / draw / build. 

*Fabric blinds. I find that the dark heavy curtains really close off the stunning window area. I would love to do a reading nook near the bay windows and the curtains just take up far too much space all round. 

I hope you have enjoyed a little sneak peek into our boy's bedroom. Honestly, I cannot wait to get started on their desk over the holidays. Please could all this paper, glue and goodness knows what else on my kitchen table find somewhere else to party?! Let's build that desk Mr Kyle, and fast!

DIY Wooden Geometric Mirror

**Aw, so I really thought I had saved the first photos of how this mirror started, but they must have been deleted accidentally when organizing photos post-move. I will break it down for you instead.**

Picture a few pieces of really scrappy wood, shoved behind an old broken gate. Then picture my husband's face when I told him I'd like us to turn that into THIS. A gorgeous octagon-shaped mirror. I was so inspired by Kelly's awesome tutorial on 'View Along The Way', that we just had to try it. We were still living in our home in Waterfall at the time, and I had originally planned for this mirror to go right above an entrance table. When we moved to Pietermaritzburg, our entrance layout changed and we decided to use it as a focal point for the dining room instead. I um-ed and ah-ed about this idea a little at first, but Clint was convinced and I am so glad he pushed me in the right direction. You can see an update on our dining room here.

Okay, now let's get really real. If we thought we were going to whip the frame right up and have it painted by dinner, boy were we wrong. I was relieved that Kelly and her husband had trouble with this project too or I would seriously be questioning if we'd lost the DIY touch.

Once Clint had sanded the gross pieces of wood down, I was in charge of drawing the correct angles on to each piece for cutting. I thought I had done the most perfect job, obviously. Clint set off to his folks place to cut the pieces, and we were both generally feeling rather pleased with ourselves. He returned and lay everything out on the table. Our OCTA....wait, hang on...how many pieces did you cut?! NINE pieces, I tell you. Nine. I totally messed up the angles, which meant as he went along, it made sense to add another piece to close the frame. Let's take a moment of silence for the Octagon mirror dream being shattered. The silver lining? We were going to have an awesome GEOMETRIC mirror instead - go us!

We played around with a few (a lot) of ideas of how to attach the mirror securely and ended up going with the following:

1. We used framing nails to secure the pieces, creating the frame

2. We cut masonite board to the exact shape of the frame and nailed it to the back

3. We went to PG Glass and they kindly cut the mirror to fit perfectly inside our shape, then glued it

Clint painted the frame with Annie Sloan chalk paint in 'Pure White', followed by a clear furniture sealer. He then sanded down bits here and there to give it a weathered look. We added hardware to the back of the frame and finally, after 6 months of procrastinating (on and off working on it), we hung it proudly in our new home. It is by far my favourite item in all of the rooms.

First Look: Dining Room

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of incorporating a ton of white into my home decor. I do however also love bold pops of colour and mixing and matching of patterns / prints. Our previous home had a two-toned taupe wall along with warm tones in the tiling. This meant we pretty much went all white er'where with our home decor to brighten up the space and keep it feeling fresh. 

In our new home, it's almost the total opposite. Here, it's bright and light all on it's own! Light streams in from bay windows, both the existing walls and tiles are shades of cream / white and the high ceilings emphasize it all. I LOVE IT. Imagine my surprise when we moved all our furniture in and it all just felt a little bare...like the rooms were still echoing! Too much white? I didn't think that was possible. One month in, our main living spaces still didn't feel like 'home' and needed some key features to bring warmth and balance. 

We have recently started on our biggest DIY project to date in our Lounge, but we are only planning to have that finished by the end of the year. A simpler project to work on in the meantime is our Dining room. We are by no means finished with it, but this is a sneaky first look at where we are at and what we started from. Right before we moved in, the space looked like this:

Initially, we dumped everything in this room that we didn't know where to put anywhere else. We actually hosted our first church lunch on the day pictured below. We were so excited to have people over to our new mansion that we didn't care much for the piles of un-hung artwork and frames.

We decided to take everything out into the garage that we absolutely didn't like for the Dining room area, and rather start from the beginning again. Ahh, I could actually start to think clearly.

*We mounted a white curtain rod
*We started out picture frame wall
*We painted the chandelier white
 *We left only the bookcase, the curtains and the table and chairs. The rest of the furniture and nik naks we moved out.
*Clint recently made a gorgeous mirror for me that I had intended for an entrance way of some sort. That pain-staking project deserves a whole story of it's own so I won't go into it too much, but we decided to use it on this Dining room wall. Read: Clint desperately wanted it there!! :) 

On paper, this looks pretty as a picture. In real life, it lacked character and since it's the first thing you see when you walk in the front door, it needed something. I've fallen in love with a specific shade of blue-grey that I've seen in a few magazines recently. It's not too cheesy. It's not too dark. It's timeless. It's classy. It's easy to match. It flows with the rest of the open plan. More importantly, it's perfect for our feature wall in here! Our first tin of paint was a flop - way too purple (see swatch below on far left)...

I'm having a little laugh out loud here that Clint's shirt matches perfectly to the shade gone wrong. Anyway, enough staring at that wonderful human. He returned the tin for us - I get so shy about that kind of thing - and we had Builders Express make up our perfect colour instead. At only R290 for 5L, we were very happy overall.

* Clint poly-filled a few unnecessary holes in the wall

* I used painters tape to section off the wall

* We tag-teamed painting two coats while the kids did their own arts + crafts at the breakfast table

Finally, here is where we have ended up as of this past week-end! To say we are pleased with the changes so far would be an understatment. It makes me happy every time I walk into the house.

The projects on our to-do list for this space are as follows:

* Update / fill photo frames 

* I'm torn between keeping the frame wall simple or making a really large one

* The bookcase (you can see it on the first pic) will either need a coat of Annie Sloan chalk paint or else we may replace it altogether. We would also like to move all the books and games out into the Lounge and have this bookcase serve as a display case instead.

* Our random assortment of second-hand chairs need a little attention. Three of them are still begging to be re-upholstered, and we'd actually like to switch out two of them. 

* Replace our dining room table. Clint made this one using a friend's discarded door, but it's shown wear through the move. Clint's Dad has kindly offered us an unfinished oak table base that we will turn into a sturdier table. I have a feeling we will keep this all natural wood and rather incorporate white accessories on the tabletop. 

There you have it! I hope you are inspired to tackle a project of your own this week-end!

Second Look: Home Office

The sun is out and the weather is warm. It felt like the perfect day to take a few pics of the updates we've done to my workspace since the first look. Looking back, I'd say 3 out of 6 checks off the to-list is pretty good!

* Spray-paint gold corners onto black frames
* Paint desk white (the existing bronze handles are going to pop out beautifully!)
* Drill a hole into the back of the chest of drawers to hide wires
* Buy four white files to replace the multi-coloured ones I currently have. Re-label them.
* Buy a comfortable cushion for office chair
* Look into a rug option for these chilly days

I love the difference the gold corners make to the artwork. I used the same gold spray paint to jazz up a waste paper basket for under the desk. You can read more about that tutorial here. I also love my Millamae notepad that I bought recently. Beautiful stationary made locally, and the ladies behind the brand are just as lovely. For the desk, we used two coats of Annie Sloan 'pure white' chalk paint and a coat of furniture sealer to give it that antiqued look. It's coming together I tell you! What do you think of the changes?

DIY: A shiny waste paper basket make-over

We have made great progress on setting up my new Home Office. It truly is a pleasure to work in such a peaceful spot in the house.

A few week-end's ago, we visited the SPCA in Pietermaritzburg as part of a little outing with the kids to score some thrift shop finds. Jesse and Jack chose a "gold" medal each for their treasure box. Well worth the R5 spent, I say! I didn't see any trinkets that would work well in our home, until we were just about to leave and saw this waste paper basket hanging out by the exit. A grotty, totally worn and filthy wire red waste paper basket? I had to have it! Clint and I are both the same kind of crazy because we just knew that with a fresh coat of paint, this would be the perfect little beauty for my office space.

 Supplies you will need:

x  Thrifted Waste Paper Basket (ours cost us all of R10)

x  Spray paint colour of your choice (we already had gold leftover from a previous project)

x  Newspaper

Instructions:

Choose a sunny day to lay your newspaper outside with few rocks to weight it. Clean your wire basket with soapy water and leave out to dry. Lay the basket on top of the newspaper and spray away! Repeat with a second coat.

 

Giveaway: Win a Pair of Loungewear / Printed Pants!

I stumbled upon a Facebook page that definitely sparked my interest last month. Aptly named, Long Legged Ladies - South Africa lines up perfectly with my own business vision to reach the gorgeous, tall ladies of South Africa and provide them with long-length clothing choices.

The lovely gals behind the page - Stephane and Gertha - have invited me on as admin. I am delighted! To celebrate this new project, I have decided to host a little giveaway. It seems only right to offer a pair or Loungewear Pants or Printed PJ Bottom to make sure those ankles are covered for Winter! Don't you think?

Enter below! Competition ends 28th July and please note that this is a local, South African only giveaway.

 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Mother, the Birthday Cake Maker

The best decision I ever made was to ask my Mom to please throw a cake together for my eldest, Jesse's, first birthday party. She is a fantastic baker whilst I border on average at best. 

This resulted in a totally over-the-top incredibly delicious home-made ice cream cake with a fondant figure of Jesse's favourite soft toy, Jerry. And by home-made ice-cream, I mean she made two or three different types of ice-cream and layered that together with crushed brownies and who knows what else. It was almost too good to watch little babies tucking into it - totally not kidding!

And so was born a tradition that I plan to hold to as long as possible. Are you reading this mom? No pressure. To honour my mom's cake-baking & making skills, here are a few of the delicious creations that she has whipped up since. The love, thought and time that goes into each cake amazes me every year. When you scroll down to the Bike Party Cake, it just has to be noted that aside from the actual bike, everything was made on her kitchen counter. Can you cope?

"And all that for what?" you might be thinking. For that look on their faces when "Nana" comes around the corner with that big ol' birthday cake that sums up a very big "I LOVE YOU". Thank you Mom for loving our boys like you do. Thank you for making memories they will never forget.

  

- Jesse's 2nd Birthday: Under-the-sea Theme Vanilla Sponge Cake -

 

 

- Jesse's 3rd Birthday: Thomas the Train Theme Chocolate Cake -

  

- Jack's 1st Birthday: Cars Theme Ice-cream Cake -

- Jesse's 4th Birthday: Planes Theme Vanilla Sponge Cake -

 

- Jesse's 5th Birthday: Bike Theme Coffee Cake -

 

- Jack's 3rd Birthday: Smartie Themed Chocolate Layer Cake -