THRIFTY THURSDAY....MANTLE MAKEOVER......AGAIN!

Here was the beginning of the initial transformation of my Craigslist Oak fireplace.  I decided I wanted it to be more of a focal point since it's the first thing you see when you walk in the house.  I used Valspar black paint Nero.

This was the stripped down look, I had to sand before painting.

This was the end result for beginning of summertime.  We have an island theme in our living room and I dont plan of changing that but I wanted a lighter summer feel.  

Sooooooooooooooooooo.....everything came down and I started playing around.

The center artwork came down and I took 2 frames from the nursery to bring the colors of the shells on the walls.   

I also distressed the fireplace a bit too...it was very nice and black but I wanted a more worn, aged look.

I added some more seaside accessories.  Like the big shell ball from our beach bathroom downstairs.   We always collect seashells so we are never in need.  

I have this lovely HAMILTON typeset drawer that I havent yet listed in my L7D Etsy shop.  So I borrowed it and using it for Etsy photos too (im a multi-tasker) lol

I filled those awesome little compartments with some cool shaped and colorful shells. 

I hope I can part with this thing...Im really loving it on my wall there and can use it year round for holiday displays...Uh oh I might be in trouble!

Here is what Im working with at this point...I like it but I know myself and will switch it up a bit by next week probably sooner. 

Here is a look of the total left side area of the living room.  Dont mind Sesame Street on the TV...just one of things you will see daily in my house.  We love Elmo...luckily there isnt any blocks or cheerios on the floor.

So dont be afraid to use unusual things in your displays and play around and have fun with it.....often like me if you like too!

-MJ

I decided to do a breakdown of the items and there origins.

Fireplace - Craigslist

Island tree art frames -    The Great Indoors (now closed)

Glass apothecary jars -  Home Goods

Shells - collected from various beach trips

Shell Ball - Home Goods

Candlestick - Vintage pottery piece from flea market

Cream Chair - Craigslist

Vintage birdcage - Craigslist

Elephant tables - Craigslist

Ivory/wood tray - Home Goods

Ostrich balls - handmade

Bamboo sticks - Home Goods

Typeset drawer - estate sale

Cream frames - found broken & repurposed w/ burlap

Black throw - actually one of my scarves :)

Olive rainboots - Spring

DINING ROOM REVEAL......FINALLY!

Well it seems like forever since Ive been waiting to do this post.   Holidays are over, 1st birthday is done and I got my butt in gear and got to work.  My dining room was 1 of 4 rooms I redesigned this year in our house.

You all have seen pictures from my party and tablescape posts but I will refresh you memory with a flashback.

This was the placement of the credenza when I first got it (or when it was gifted to me by Big Daddy  and the kids for Mother's Day)

This was my buffet on the mirror wall with all my religious artifacts

A tabletop shot of the buffet

Here is the pass through wall to kitchen and final resting place of credenza which is now formally known as the liquor cabinet.

The cross wall then looked like this for awhile...I just couldnt take the green anymore!

So where does one look for inspiration........well if you know me it wouldnt be in a magazine or google.  Although I love to browse, I'm always inspired by something out of the box or a detail that is overlooked.   Here is the inspiration for our new dining room.

A good ol' bottle of Jack...yep Jack Daniels!

Strange to some Im sure, and anyone who knows me understands that Im not a drinker and Im kinda a light weight.   But I love the contrast of the black and white label with the brownish liquor inside.  YES I KNOW....it's empty now!  I said I dont drink but this was a birthday gift for Big Daddy from our good friend Joey....and let's just say the men enjoyed some Jack!

So I this is what I ended up with after selecting my paints, rearranging furniture, also minimizing on the accessories and just an all around cleaner more elegant look but still my Rustic European style.

Kept the cross wall (that wasn't even a consideration) however, I did move the buffet to this wall and I have to say I like it much better.

This is a view from the living room, I scaled down some..let's not get crazy we are talking about me and my Go Big or Go home theory.  But I think even tho the collections are displayed it looks much cleaner than before.

Pass through wall...I took down the last supper painting and kept it lighter.  I considered painting the buffet and credenza black until I painted the walls (btw...it's Valspar SR303 Seagull Gray)  Now they match the tabletop perfectly and all is well.  So the black paint went on the LR fireplace (that's another post..hehe)

Here is the window wall.....notice all the room on the right side now that the buffet has been moved.  Room looks much bigger now and I love my curtains.  I've been wanting to stencil a trellis wall but I opted for it in a pattern curtain instead.

The mirror stayed but I had Big Daddy have it vertically now with my fabulous Willow House sconces that I got from Bridget Price (awesome consultant) check out her Willow House Facebook page for the goods on the new stuff.

Big Daddy also moved the altar shelf over to this wall and Im kinda lovin it!

Another liquor of inspiration...my bottle of Grandpa Chacha's wine given to me by my bff's man. He knows the insider that we both call each other Chacha as our nicknames.  

A discounted lamp from Lowe's (2002) it actually came with 4 different styles of shades.  First time using the leopard ( I love animal prints. lol)  My golden angel from Bombay Company and my gorgeous Anthropologie votive holder gifted to me by my stylish sister Jenn of Pinky Brown Redesign.

This is an actual toile tray that I spray painted (Yikes I knew nothing of toile until seeing a fellow blogger Wendy's collection on her wall)  But I still love it and it holds an antique bible that is in a language we still havent figured out.  The two marble glasses Big Daddy brought home from his deployment in Iraq.  

I had to keep my melted candle shelf and my Bienvenidos sign gifted by my bff.  The shelf is so Kat Von D but on a less rock chic scale. lol

I needed something over the credenza so I relocated this picture that was a flea market find and of course kept my Home Goods apothecary jars.  I added an Italian statue of La Pieta by Michelangelo and some unfinished wooden crosses.

My wooden (actually bark) rosary from Portugal that was brought back in 1996 from my daughter's then baby sitter Alice who is from there.

A sweet little wax picture that says "God Bless Our Home" I just like alot

The infamous cross wall...I love it with the lighter wall color.  The detail of the crosses are so obvious and beautiful.

Closer shot of mirror wall with new shelf, new sconces and my tattered angel.

Details of the 1930s buffet

These corbels were gifted to me by my bff because she bought a few and decided on the others. Love them.

Willow House sconces I selected from a giveaway credit.

These curtains are from Lowe's and they are Waverly, I loved them so much but didnt want to pay $19.99 per panel (Im thrifty remember) so I cut 1 panel and flanked the windows for the $19.99 and used the money I saved to buy the matching valances across the top.  I also used the 10% military discount they give to military families THANK YOU LOWE'S!!

This is the detail and finish on my dining room table legs...I love it and believe it or not it's from Ashley's Home Furniture.  It such a substantial set compared to the antique federal set I had of my grandmother's. 

Well I hope you all enjoyed the tour and I hope to be revealing the other 3 rooms soon.

Actually Tuesday I will reveal the bedroom since my episode of The Nate Show will air Monday the 28th (make sure you tune in, I actually saw the teaser during today's show...so funny)   So I can reveal the artwork Michele Beschen did actually hanging in our bedroom.

Linking up to It's A Keeper party

IT'S ALL IN THE NAME......

I've always been fascinated with names, letter, symbols and that they flow very well.  I spent weeks at a time going over my children's names before they were born.

Well your last name, you really can't choose........especially if your married!    You can choose not to take the name but that's kinda insulting and akward if you have children.

I must say Im quite happy with my final surname of JOSEPH.   I love my initials 'MJ' as most of you know. lol  My house is filled with J's or M's and I just love using letters in the decor of my home.

I wanted to share a little project I worked on Friday night.....technically 2 a.m. Saturday morning!  I do my best work when everyone is sleeping and Im under pressure (kinda like now...)  Actually my daughter's 1st bday party was the following morning and I needed to get my family name wall done.

The big letter 'J' from Home Goods I had blogged about before and it had been just hanging out there on the wall lonely as heck, until I brought home 'o' one day and they became friends.  But then I just had Jo hanging there on the wall and I had ideas of what I wanted to do but just haven't had the time.   I ran to A.C. Moore to get some supplies and picked up 'E' and 'P'.  So here is what I pulled together with what I had hanging around the house. I do pride myself on being an up-cycler, re-cycler Im just all about re-purposing and take any opportunity to prove it!  

Here is my proof.....

The crackle finish 'J' in original form

Lowercase 'o' cover is tv listing section of the newspaper

My daughter's old locker magnet board with a piece of toile pattern contact paper cut into a letter 'S'

Wooden capital 'E' spray painted black

White capital letter 'P' which I painted on a leopard pattern.

The letter 'H' is made obviously from a sewing tape measure

Here is the Joseph family name wall

This wall is in our hallway which just got a make-over and the other side is a photo wall that displays our favorite family & friends.

BY THE WAY....THE SPRING FLING HAS STARTED TODAY (see button top of my sidebar).

  My Blogging BFF Leighann from A Crafty Southern Chick is up today with her fabulous giveaway!   

As well as Ann from Increasingly Domestic

14 days of giveaways with 2 giveaways a day......who can resist that?????

Linking this post up to some fabulous parties this week:

  

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

FINALLY I THINK ITS DONE

Well I changed things around a little and decided not to use my new ebay bird plates (they finally arrived) because they are very large for dessert plates.  So I added some apothecary jars that I just purchased this week from one of my favorite stores HOME GOODS for $9.99 (still need to fill them with more goodies I think)  And I need to add some birdies...I couldnt find the ones I originally saw at the store this week.  I didnt use placemats or put out flatware...this is a very casual tablescape. This is a birds eye view (pssst...pretend you dont see my daughters sneakers under the table...lol)