Living Room Furniture Makeover

You might remember from last week's coffee table post that I mentioned restoring some furniture.  I was treasure hunting a couple of weeks ago when I found two pieces that would make great end tables for the living room.  One actually was an end table and the other a bookcase style shelf, which you'll see in a minute, but first I want to explain what prompted this whole endeavor.

When we were first married and living in a very small rental, we had an equally small loveseat couch.  It was the perfect size for the two of us, the two of us and a baby, the two of us a pre-schooler and another baby.....but then not so much.  The kids were getting too big and there was no way we could comfortably sit together anymore.  Plus, kids growing older means fewer larger plastic toys and so we find ourselves with a bit more living room space now anyway.

So when Husby found a nice couch at the thrift store (and thoroughly checked it out) he went ahead and brought it home.  It was darker in color than I would prefer, but a slipcover takes care of that problem easily.  I like that better anyway as now I can easily put the whole 'couch' through the laundry every couple of weeks or so, or in other words, as often as it gets covered in salsa....😄  Total cost for couch and slipcover: $70

After his success with the couch, Husby stumbled upon a large, barely used La-Z-Boy recliner.  At only $24, he went ahead and snapped up the chair too.

So now we had a couch and a chair, but no side tables.  I figured it was only a matter of time before I would check those items off of my list and actually found them both at the same garage sale.  Check it out:

Side Note:  I mentioned that Husby thoroughly checked out the sofa before making the purchase.  Anytime you are buying something used used, you want to check it out for obvious reasons, but especially items that can't go through a proper washing.  I have a list of things that I'll never buy used like socks, undies, etc but sometimes fabric covered furniture can be ok.  You want to check the item carefully for icky things like bugs, pet hair smells or questionable stains.  And when I say thoroughly, I mean under cushions, under the entire piece, behind the piece, etc.  Even when an item passes the cleanliness test, I still recommend cleaning it with a disinfectant like Lysol before it enters your home.

(You can click here to read more about the coffee table)

End Table

I liked this table right away for it's French style.  In fact, the legs, hardware and cut of the top match my china cabinet almost perfectly.  I managed to snag it for $7.

(You can click here to see the china cabinet)

Fresh & Pretty

A new coat of white paint paired with gold hardware (spray paint) and this end table is perfectly updated.

Bookcase

Also at the same sale was this bookcase.  I think it had been used as wall shelving as some of the hanging brackets were still in place and the top was painted green.  This piece only needed to be repainted in white and was $5.

Ready to Go

Once painted I tucked the shelf up against the wall near the La-Z-Boy chair.  I was looking for something both tall and narrow and this piece worked perfectly.  Now Husby has a place to set snacks, drinks and his phone while reclining comfortably.

Completed Living Room

Couch & Slipcover- $70
Recliner- $24
End Table- $7
Bookcase- $5
Coffee Table (Varnish)- $6
Paint- $10

That's an entire thrifted and made-over living room for $122.  Eat all of the salsa you want, nothing here is too valuable to spill on top of! 😆😆😆

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I hope you enjoyed this furniture makeover post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

Treasure Hunting & Thrifting - Summer Glassware 2018

Half of the treasure hunting season has passed without an update, so I'm going to fix that today with a few pretty glassware finds:

Milk Glass Lamp

I finally found a cute little lamp for the top of the refrigerator  (Goodwill, $5) and I love the soft glow that it provides in the evenings.

(You can click here to read more about my lamp obsession)

Milk Glass Dish & Bowl

Both thrift store finds and $2 apiece.  The dish will end probably up organizing small items in my crafting space and the bowl has been added to the rest of the mixing bowls in the kitchen.

Glass Cake Stand

I decided to pick this stand up even though it is without a dome - that's me 'branching out' and 'broadening my horizons' 😁  I found it treasure hunting for $5.

Free Vases

I'm telling you, it happens.  Every once in awhile I happen upon somebody so intent on purging their home that they are giving away things for free.  This was one of those times so I ended up with two more vases from a yard sale.

Black Milk Glass

Yay, yay, yay!  I finally found some colored milk glass!  This set of black plates and one dish were $7.  Not bad considering they are vintage Arcoroc from France 💗

You all know I love my milk glass.  While I have tons of white and two jadeite (beautiful green) pieces, I would like to expand my collection to include black, pink, red and blue.  I probably won't display all of the colors at one time though.  Maybe black with Halloween decor and red for Valentine's Day...or maybe just have the pieces on hand for various party themes...I'm not sure yet.

(You can click here to read more about my collection)

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I hope you enjoyed this treasure hunting and thrifting post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

Seashell Filled Milk Glass Lamp

Sometime last spring I found a milk glass lamp (while treasure hunting) that had a clear glass space in the middle. I didn't get the chance to share my poor little lamp until now, but read on to see it filled with lovely seashells:

New Lamp 

I can remember the exact garage sale where I found this lamp, but not the price.  I want to say it was around $2?  At first I was going to pass it up because I didn't care for the plasticky looking magnolia that was stuffed inside, but then I figured it couldn't be that hard to change it out and so I grabbed it thinking it would be a nice addition to the island in my closet room.

I went back and forth with different filler ideas; flowers, faux jewels, actual jewelry...and then I had a better idea: seashells!  I'm a big bath person and love ending the day with a hot soak, but I don't always appreciate the bright overhead lights of the bathroom.  I had been looking for some sort of smaller table lamp and here this one was right in front of me.  So instead of using it in a dressing room, I relocated it to the master bath...

Bathroom Counter Before

Here is a photo of the bathroom counter before the lamp.  I decided that the two smaller jars of seashells could go away to make some room.  Not only did that clear the space that I needed, but it also provided me with filler material for the lamp.

Side Note:  If you can see the framed photo on the counter, yes that's Husby, yes that is a shark that he caught fishing off of the beach, yes he threw it back and yes it swam away happily 😎

Seashells

I added this photo for a couple of reasons one, it's just pretty 😉 and two, I wanted to point out that no matter how long you have had your seashells, they always have to be cleaned before you do anything with them.  I don't know where they store all of it, but each time you move a seashell it seems like more sand appears!

Newly Filled

The parts to the vase unscrewed pretty easily.  I tossed out the tired magnolia, gave the glass a quick wipe down and refilled the void with the seashells.

I'm still looking for a small lamp for my closet, but I'm glad that I used this one in the bathroom instead.  And I really like the softer light it provides while I'm taking a bath.

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I hope you enjoyed this treasure hunting post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

Little French Table

Since the region that I live in experiences all four seasons, garage sales are commonly held only about 6-7 months of the year.  But spring is in the air my friends, and it won't be long before I'm treasure hunting my way through life once again!

Given that, and that fact that I'm starting to get super excited, I decided to share with you today one of my best finds from last summer:  This adorable little French table, take a look!

Little French Table

I noticed this pretty piece before I even hit the curb of the garage sale - we're talking all of the way across the street - and I zeroed right in!

Not only was it of French design, not only was it already painted gold, but it was a mere $5!

So yeah, I grabbed it up 😎

Decorative Top

I wasn't too sure about this 'marbled' mirror top at first and experimented with painting the reverse side in first white and then gold.  It turned out that I liked it best in it's original form though, so that's how it stayed 

Detailed Carving

Here are some close-ups of the carved detailed.  I say 'carved' because as far as anyone can tell this piece looks very much to be made from wood.  In truth though, it's actually a heavy duty plastic!  This might turn a lot of people off but I am by no means a purist when it comes to design.
As far as I'm concerned plastic means durable and lightweight 😉

Closet Room

I was going to place the table in our master bedroom under the large window, but it proved to be just to tempting as a window seat.  My Bubby was all set to climb on top when I caught him just in time 😅
We avoided breaking the glass top and I figured I better stash this piece in a more out of the way location.  Now the table lives in my closet room and looks quite at home next to an arm chair underneath my mirrored wall.  A perfect side table for a girly room!

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I hope you enjoyed this treasure hunting post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

From the Archives: Baby Girl's Room & Closet Decor (2015)

I love blogging and sharing the creative aspects of my personality, however, I strive to be really careful when it comes to protecting the privacy of my family. 

I took these room decor photos when my Baby Girl was only 2, but didn't feel quite right about sharing them at the time.  Now that 6 years have passed (😌) and she's a completely different person, I think it's ok to go ahead and share a bit of her -used to be- personal space.  Enjoy!

Welcome to Baby Girl's room from 2015:

Rocker by the Window

The rocking chair in the top left photo used to belong to Husby as a child originally featured a dark wood finish.  A fresh coat of white paint updated it nicely and allowed it to blend right in with the existing decor.

A pink black-out shade was a pretty way to stop the light and prevent sunshine from interfering with my Baby Girl's sleep.  I used a twin sized flat white sheet to create a curtain and pulled the fabric to the side with a few smiley fabric flowers from the dollar store.

(You can click here to read more about making curtains from sheet fabric)

Toy Corner

Lots and lots and lots of toys here 😄

 I love the use of toy hammocks for corralling a million stuffed animals into place.  They run about $10 each but I was able to find these while treasure hunting for .50 and $1.

The table was a freebie from a family member and served as a great way to store the dollhouses as well as to provide a play surface.

The cabinet hanging above the table was handmade by Husby's father to match the rest of the bedroom furniture.

A Set of Beds

We always intended on having two children so when it came time to move Baby Girl into a 'big kid bed', we opted for adjustable bunk beds.  For the time being we turned them with the ladder toward the wall to keep Baby Girl off of the top unsupervised and used the top for additional toy storage and she slept on the bottom.  Later, after the Little Man was born and big enough for his own 'big kid bed', we took them apart and had two beds ready to go - no additional purchase necessary 😎

I also opted for plain white sheets and plain comforters.  Kids acquire so many different character items over the years (and go through so many different phases) that I figured basic colors would be easiest to decorate around.  No matter what the current interest is, plain pink (and now plain blue for the Little Man) goes with just about everything.

Character Close-Ups

At this point in time, Disney Princesses, Care Bears and Lalaloopsy were much adored!

Back of the Door Storage

Baby Girl also used to have a large collection of Beanie Babies which we displayed in hanging shoe organizers. 

I love re-purposing shoe organizers in other areas of the house.  Currently, the white organizer now hangs in the kids bathroom to collect all of Baby Girl's hair accessories and the green one ended up in the garage.

Paintings & Wall Art

The water colors were painted by my Grandpa and are actual pictures of Baby Girl. 
The butterfly art is the front of a gift bag that I cut out and framed.

Disney Castle

Husby and I found this vinyl castle sticker on clearance at Wal-Mart right before we moved into the house.  It was a bit of a splurge (for something that would undoubtedly be ripped apart by tiny hands - and yes, it eventually was 😁), but worth if for Baby Girl's very first room.

I used glow in the dark plastic stars to accent the castle (found for .50 while treasure hunting) and the night time effect was adorable.

More Wall Art

Each one of these framed posters is actually the front of a gift bag from Baby Girl's second birthday.

I can't stress enough how easy and economical this project is!  Kids are always changing tastes (and always having birthdays) why not continually update their room decor and recycle at the same time?

In to the Closet

Part storage and part fun, this walk-in closet is large enough that it almost served as another room.

Storage...

I think even storage areas should be neat, bright and welcoming 😊

I opted for open basket storage (instead of drawers) because I am creatively better when I can see all of my options - yes, that also applies to choosing outfits 😁

Having all of your clothing on display however can mean things look messy pretty quickly.  One obvious tip is to keep everything neatly folded, but using the same color throughout the space also helps.  By having most of the storage baskets, bins and drawers in the same shade of crisp white, the storage furniture visually blends away.

...And Fun

Since the closet space is large enough, I set up a little dressing area for Baby Girl as well.  The makeup table was a $5 find and the purple flowered wall pegs were $1 for the set, all treasure hunting finds.

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And that was my Baby Girl's room, back when she was 2! 
I hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2017

Treasure Hunting (So Far) - 2017

I've been treasure hunting since April, but I haven't shared any of my fun yet this year.
I thought it was time to update with a few of my favorite finds:

Enjoy!

Candles & a Vased Peony

I love my fake candles and I'm always adding to my collection.  These were .25 each.
The artificial peony we found for .50 - it even has faux water! 😍

Milk Glass Saucers

These gold embellished tiny plates were .25 each.

Artificial Ivy

I found this hanging ivy plant for $1 and after removing the ropes, I stuck it on the porch as an outdoor plant.

You can click here to see more of the front porch.

GIANT Candles

Ok, so I was just talking about my faux candle collection, right?  I could not pass up these huge fake candles for $3!

I'll admit, I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but they make me unreasonably happy 😁

Check out the inset, I didn't think the photo really showed the size of the candles, so I added in a shot for reference.  Yes, that is a standard sized tea pot. 😆😌

Vintage Pyrex & Jadeite

Score, score, score!
Not only did I finally find some pretty patterned vintage Pyrex mixing bowels (.50 each) but I also finally found some Jadeite!

Since Jadeite is harder to find and more valuable, I went ahead and splurged at $25 for the two of these pieces.  I know, I know, to most people $25 isn't all that much.  But I'm used to dealing in quarters and dollars when I treasure hunt, so this was a 'big' purchase for me 😎

Milk Glass Treasure Trove

I was treasure hunting with my Grandma when we found a sale that had a table full of milk glass.  There were only a few pieces that I was interested in (about $8 dollars worth), but the lady who was selling it said that I could take the entire lot for $10.

Of course I had to take that deal!  Not only did I get the pieces that I was interested in, but I'm re-selling the rest for $40.  That breaks down to a profit of $30 in addition to growing my collection.  Success 😘

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I'm off now to check the listings for this weeks sales - I hope you enjoyed this treasure hunting post, thanks for stopping by!
-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2017

A Little bit of Change

Kitchen Change

I mentioned in my last post that I moved a few things around this summer.  Mostly this involved a bit of summer decor rearranging and upgrading but I also ended up moving my bakers rack.  

I loved having my bakers rack in the kitchen, but it was starting to feel crowded.  The kids are bigger now and I didn't like how the entry to the laundry room (where garage door is) was being narrowed - it's crazy how much bigger people are when they are wearing back packs! 😆  Plus, I was feeling like my fake cookie and cake obsession was taking over the kitchen.  

Now I'm all about collecting, but I can't stand clutter.  It was time to condense everything into one tidy place.  With a little coaxing and nudging, all of the cakes and cookies fit into the existing china cabinet.  It looked great and left me with the unused bakers rack that I didn't have another spot for inside the house.......but I thought, "why not the porch?"

You can click here to read my summer decor post,

or here to read about the bakers rack.

On the Porch

I figured this would be sort of an experiment.  I snagged a large rock from our landscaping and put it on the bottom shelf thinking that the wind might be a problem, but it turns out that only the small fern on the very top ever gets blown around.  I also thought that rain might cause some issued, but even through heavy, windy downpours the shelf stays dry.  So far, the biggest issue has been wiping the occasional spider web, not too bad!

The kids really like having the drawer available as that is where we decided to store their bug boxes and bug nets.  Now when we sit on the porch in the evenings, everything they need for catching fireflies is right there on hand 😎

Since this is still in the experiment stage, I haven't done much other than set out a few random plants that I didn't want in the house anymore. 

Top:  I found this artificial fern at Good Will some time ago.  I liked it (because I like anything fake and ferns make me think of dinosaurs, which I love - totally common 😁), but it doesn't really fit in with my indoor style.

Middle:  These pots of faux grass were treasure hunting finds from last year.  Since the containers are a bit too modern for me, they also went outside.  

Bottom:  I love me some ivy, but this basket wasn't doing it for me as an indoor container. I think it's ok for the porch, though.  (You can click here to read about my basket issues 😂)

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That's it for now.  I hope everyone is having a great start to their summer, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2017

Treasure Hunting - Fall 2016

I'm here today with a quick treasure hunting wrap-up.  Take a look at a few of the things I found before garage sales ended for the season:

Carved Rose Wall Decor

For $2, I found a set of these carved rose wall brackets.  They are the kind with openings on the sides so that you can hang them at your windows and drape your curtain material through them.  You could also use them as bookends if you wanted.

Chipped Florals

If you look closely, you can see that the finish was chipped revealing some of the white plaster.  This was no big deal to me since I planned on painting them white anyway.....

.....and I love how they turned out.  So fresh, bright and clean!

Artificial Ferns

I found three of these faux ferns for $1 each.  They came in hanging wicker baskets which I removed and tossed out.  I plan on using them as outdoor plants next year, so there is no need to store the bulky baskets.

(You can click here if you want to see more of my super easy, artificial garden technique)

Decorative Glass Bowl

I already have a bowl like this that sits on top of my microwave, but since this was a $1, I grabbed it too.  You can never have too many pretty dishes ;)

Milk Glass Sugar Bowl & Trinket Box

I thought I was doing really well when I found each of these for a dollar, you know I love adding to my milk glass collection!  But then, because garage sales were dying down, I decided to try 'thrifting'.

Baby Girl and I went to Good Will where..........

..........this happened!!!  :D :D :D

Needless to say, now I'm as hooked on thrifting as I am on treasure hunting.  I've had some really great luck too!  In fact, I'll be back soon with posts about milk glass lamps and a French china cabinet, all from Good Will!

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I hope you enjoyed this treasure hunting post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2016