Concrete Patio Floor Facelift How to Project -- from Drab to Dramatic!

Drab. Drab. Drab.  That's the only word I used to use when I thought about the concrete patio flooring on our front and back porches.

Before picture -- as if you couldn't tell.

However, we were finishing up our goal of becoming debt free and didn't have excess money to spend on expensive improvements.  So . . . I had to be very creative, something I wasn't sure I could be when it came to eradicating the drabness of these floors on a budget by myself.

After "googling" (I just love how that name has become a verb) how to paint/stain a concrete floor, I ventured out to Home Depot for cleaning supplies, concrete stain, brushes, painter's tape, etc.  I ended up skipping the etching process as part of the prep work because I felt our concrete was "rough" enough to take the stain.

Here's a video I posted about it on YouTube:

I'm so pleased with the results even two years later.  We use this space constantly in the spring, summer (well, in the mornings and evenings when it's not too hot), and fall.

After picture -- dramatic indeed!  :)

Dressing up Dresser Tops

Although I do not consider myself a natural at decorating like some lucky friends I know, I do still like to try my hand at it.  I used to be an HGTV junkie back when they showed actual decorating shows instead of all the House Hunter-type shows like they do nowadays.  If you're familiar with Decorating Cents, Design on a Dime, or Design Remix, it will give you a feel for the type of low-cost, high impact decorating style I have (or, rather, try to have).

Anyway, when I was cleaning the glass tops of my bedroom dressers one day,  I thought it would be so neat if they had some type of umphh factor underneath the glass.

Enter some old wrapping paper I think my parents had given me.  Somehow I remembered I had it and pulled it out of the deep recesses of our closet.  Even though it was some type of nautical print, the colors matched the decor in our bedroom.  I spread it out on the floor (print side down), carefully lifted the glass top off the dresser, and laid it down on top of the wrapping paper.  Once I traced out the glass, I pushed it off the paper and cut out the pattern.

I thought it looked pretty good and decided to keep it like that.  I finished putting my accessories back in place and called it a day.  :)

One of these days I'm going to spray paint these white frames black and distress them afterward.

Stash to Study

Forget the omnipresent junk drawer in the kitchen -- I had an entire bonus room full of junk.  Boxes upon boxes of old binders, knick knacks, old picture frames and lamps, outdated comforter sets, broken chairs, my college typewriter, and window treatments I bought but never used found a home in that unused space.  You name it, I stashed it.  It took years to accumulate that much stuff!  I make pack rats feel good about themselves.

Alas, I enrolled in a graduate program and felt the need to have a home office.  My own niche in the house where I could hide and work (or hide and surf the 'net while taking a break from the work -- ha!).  Enter the junk, er, bonus room.  

From stash . . . 

There was an alcove just beside the stairs leading up to the bonus room that was literally begging "save me" when I went up there one evening to rummage through my stashed stuff for an empty binder for my first grad class, and I decided to claim that small space for my own.  After a full day of moving all the junk from that space (as well as that entire side of the room) to the other side of the room, I was able to create my study.

. . . to study!

Being on a bit of a budget, I didn't buy a thing for this space.  EVERYthing you see in this picture (well, except for my MacBook Pro) was already in that bonus room hiding away -- even the shawl on the back of the office chair.  LOL  

While it's not perfect or totally decorated, it is a terrific space for getting work done quietly.  I used a corner desk that my daughter didn't need anymore and backed a bookcase up to it (it's hard to see in the picture but it's right in the front) as well as some knick knacks and pictures.  I didn't hang the pictures as  I felt this space was temporary -- my goal is to totally purge the junk and make a cool family hang out now that my kids are getting older.  

Cool Nightstand Project

Yea!  I can't believe I'm back on my blog.  It's the second day and I haven't stopped yet.  Yippee!

Anyway, I thought I'd share something easy for this blog.  One of the things I like to do is decorate inexpensively.  I went to a model home in a fancy neighborhood one time where the houses started at $500,000.  The cool thing about this particular model home was that it was furnished and decorated solely by Walmart.  Yes, that's right.  Now they did have a professional decorator, but she and her design team HAD to use Walmart furniture and products.

They were so creative in how they took something intended for one use and did something totally different with it.  For instance, they took a $5.00 full-length mirror and placed it on the countertop in the kitchen where two bar stools were.  One top of that they had two chargers and place settings laid out.  Really, really neat!

So, I decided to do a project for my daughter Katie based on something I saw at this model home.  It's how to make a cool bedside table for a girl's room.  Since I didn't know I'd eventually be putting this project on my very own blog, I didn't take nearly enough pictures to show the entire process.  However, I think you'll get the idea anyway on this one.  It's really easy.

First, go to Walmart or Target or wherever and buy one of those small, round, particle board tables for about $10.00.  Next shop around and buy ribbon that will match the decor in the room.  I ended up getting the ribbon for this table at Hobby Lobby.  A tip for you is to take something that represents the color scheme in the room and use that as a guide.  I took my daughter's pillow sham since her bed is the focal point in the room.  The ribbons were the only thing that cost some money due to needing a certain amount of it and having to buy some ribbons that were not on sale just so it would match the decor.  Finally, you will need anywhere from a 1/2 yard to a full yard of fabric to top it off after you've stapled the ribbons on the table.  I chose a fun, funky, furry white fabric.

Also, you will have to know how much ribbon you'll need.  This is where your math skills will come in handy.  You'll need to measure the circumference of the table and the width of the ribbons (buy wide ribbons for the best look).  The other thing to keep in mind is the length of each ribbon.  You need to make sure you have enough overhang so the ribbons pool slightly at the bottom.  Don't forget to leave enough at the top for stapling!  Anyway, once you do the math, the rest is easy!

Here are the pictures -- enjoy!

You can see the box for the particle board table by the door in her room.

Katie is using a staple gun (with me supervising, of course) to staple the ribbons onto the table.

Screw in the legs of the particle board table.  I'm telling you, this is too easy!!!

Put it in position where you'd like it and arrange a small cloth on top to hide 

where the ribbons have been stapled onto the board.  

I wish I had taken a close up of the white fabric on top of the table.  It's so cool and furry!

Voila, here is the finished product!  

Speaking of Walmart products, we bought Katie's comforter set there in case you like it and wanted to know where we got it.  My entire house is one big work-in-progress.  I still don't have what I'd like to have on her table, but for now she does have a lamp -- it's just not on the table in the  picture here.

Feel free to comment, ask questions, or even give your own tips!

Steph